Eve without Eden
by enodemon
Summary: While on the hunt for ancient technology, Rodney finds a wraith. Not an ordinary wraith, though. Action, angst,some spoilers for The Storm & The Eye. Be warned, very violent! humanfemwraith sex. Character death in the last chap, cuz it's the END. R&R, k
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own anything and I'm not worth suing.

A/N: By 'lantean' the wraith refers to the Ancients . This story is betaed by Phyllis, to whom I give many thanks. It was also read several times by my friend, Aila, who listened to me rambling on the subject for hours and encouraged me constantly.

Part one

"Well, this is going to be fun!" Rodney said in his whiniest tone, which made Sheppard instantly roll his eyes.

"McKay, you were the one who insisted we check out this place! I gave up trying out the surf on the mainland to come explore this little piece of desert…"

"The energy readings the MALP picked up are amazing. Now as soon as I can locate their source…" Said Rodney while turning his attention to the tablet he was caring. "All right, ancient technology that way."

He was nervous and excited. The reading was higher then he'd ever seen it. This had to be good, if only the heat wasn't this punishing…

And there it was. The building's hard metal flanks shone in the sunshine. Sheppard worked his magical gene to open their way inside.

"We should split up. Cover more ground that way. If you find the ZPM first, scream. We rendezvous here in 30 minutes. Then we radio Weir and she can send in the rest of the geeks." And with that Sheppard ducked around the first corner leaving Rodney to himself. It looked like a research facility but the passing centuries had marred it. It would take some efforts to get it up and running again. Rodney huffed his disappointment as he opened the nearest hatch and took in the damaged crystals within. He was so taken by his examination that he did not perceive the movement behind him. The shadow moved in closer.

She was weak and moving was something she had not done in thousands of years. She hurt. All she wanted to do was crawl back into her opened cage and fall back to sleep until she would just fade out of existence. But instinct was stronger than exhaustion and it had taken over. The predator that she was had sensed them coming and she was starved. Anger, madness but most of all hunger: these were the forces driving her now. This one had a strong heart. She could hear it beating. She could feel it as if it was pulsating right in her hand and she clenched her fingers in response to the ghostly sensation. Just a few more steps… She knew she was shaking, her skin to tightly drawn over her bones. Every stolen step hurt. She was cheating her own demise. When she reached her target she all but doubled over with hunger. As she closed her arms around him from behind, he screamed. His terror washed over her wave after wave, soothing her ache. She tore at the materiel of his shirt searching for skin. Skin, skin, skin! Her hand opened over his naked chest and there it was…food! She closed her eyes feeling his energy fill her just like his screams filled her ears. She forced herself to listen. His mind had opened for her to invade. His mind was hungry just like hers. _Atlantis._ She pushed him away and he tore loose from her deadly embrace. He fell. It was not enough. But it had to be. She had to be patient and she schooled herself not to lounge after him. She pulled her arms tightly around herself. His fear was so strong, so inviting. His life such precious force.

Rodney fought for balance as he grabbed blindly for his sidearm. His chest hurt and felt raw where she had touched it. His hands were shaking so badly he could hardly aim. His eyes were looking for the major. He must have made the wraith let go of him somehow. But he was not in the room. His mind was racing a mile a minute.

"McKay! What the…! Jesus! Is that..?" Sheppard aimed and fired a short round of bullets into the wraith that was sitting on the floor just two feet away from Rodney. She fell to the side shrieking her hands covering the holes his bullets ripped through her upper body.

"Yes Major! It attacked me…but then just stopped."

Sheppard walked over to stand directly over her, his weapon still aiming. She raised her head and looked at her assailant. She swallowed her pain and rage. _I surrender…but how? Raise hands in defeat…_and she did. Her trembling hands rose above her head slowly, the way she had sensed she had to do it.

"Please…don't hurt me…" Her voice was broken. But she could see the message registering in her assailant's stunned expression. "I surrender. I mean you no harm." Her head was swimming. She had fought against the darkness for so long, but now it was too late. Her abused body could not sustain her conscience any longer. And as the darkness claimed her mind she welcomed it.

"What the fuck just happened?"

"Am I…different?" Rodney asked in a small voice his hand coming up to his face.

"No. God, no. You look normal, but you're bleeding. We need to get you to Dr Beckett ASAP." Sheppard aimed his P90 at the crumpled body on the floor.

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

"Making sure she's dead, what do you think?"

"Don't. Did you not hear it? It surrendered. Maybe we should take it back with us."

"This is a wraith, McKay."

"Well it didn't act very wraith-like, now did it? This is an ancient outpost, who knows what it was doing here. We should take it back and let Beckett take care of the wounds if it doesn't heal…I mean you can always gun it down later."

"I'm not carrying her, and you're bleeding, plus the stargate is half an hour walk from here."

"I don't feel so well…" Rodney said lowering himself to the floor, back to the wall.

"Here. Hold this and shoot her if she even blinks your way." Sheppard said handing Rodney his machine gun. "I'll get a medical team here." He helped McKay out of his shredded shirt and pressed it over the bleeding wound in his chest before leaving.

"Hurry back."

And then he was alone. The wraith was still, but he could make out the soft sound of it breathing in the all encompassing silence. He felt faint.

"Please…don't let them…"

"What?"

"No harm…"

"Yes, well, I'm bleeding to death here and I deem this as harm, thank you very much! And just who are you anyway?"

"No…"

The wraith looked so small. Now that the adrenaline rush had passed McKay started really taking in the sight of it. It looked very small crumpled there on the floor in front of him. Sharp bones were poking its bluish white skin, the long magenta hair flowing over its back, on the floor and into a large puddle of black blood. So it was a female. The major had referred to it as She. Of course he could see that for himself now, as no clothing covered her body. The pain in his chest was distracting and the gun was shaking in his hand. He doubted he could fire it effectively if it came to that.

"If you don't move I won't shoot you. Deal?"

She did not answer, but she didn't move either. She could still smell their fear in the air. And the other one, the one who inflicted pain and drawn her blood, that one was lantean. This ones blood was drying on her palm. She made a fist. The lantean wanted her dead. But he had listened to his companion. It would not have happened with the lanteans she knew. This was different. For how long had she slumbered? She knew it had been long enough for her clothing to rot off of her body, and long enough for her to have to fight insanity along with hunger. But how long exactly? Her wounds were not healing fast enough.

"Help me. Please…"

"We will. They will come and take care of both of us. Just don't move."

"Must…now…hungry."

"Oh, no, no, no, no! No feeding! Do not move!" McKay tightened his grip on the P90 adjusting his aim as his heart raced wildly. "I've seen your kind feeding. Being the main course on your menu leaves something to be desired."

"Can't heal. I won't harm. _Come to me!"_

She put every last ounce of strength into her summon. She could feel his mind giving in. The connection was still strong enough. The sound the gun made as he dropped it to the floor was the most satisfying sound she had heard in a long time. He crawled over to her and lay down next to her. All she had to do was extend her hand. His flesh was warm under her clammy fingers, his heart telling its tale, pounding just for her. She had to fight the need to make it stop, to take it all. Instead she climbed over him and pushed away the ragged shirt. Skin. Warm. But no fear, no emotion. Rage, but her own. Despair, but still only her own. His mind was so far gone; he didn't even register what was happening. Her blood still spilling from her opened wounds. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she moved. She grabbed him through his pants and freed his mind enough for him to feel what she was doing. He moaned and arched into her touch, his eyes shutting. Her other hand found the wound on his chest. He was growing hard under her caress. Emotion; fear, excitement, energy. She rubbed harder. He was bucking under her seeking more friction. His strength, his raw force was filling her starved senses. She used her talons to rip the materiel of his pants open. Harder. Faster. More. His blood hot between her fingers, under her opened palm, spilling over. Bright light. Her wounds closed as he came hot and wet in her clenched fist, his breathing rapid and his heart strong and racing.

She freed him completely then and rolled off of him to the side. He jumped up and away from her stumbling, grabbing his chest where she reopened his wound. Blood was trickling down his chest. His face was flushed.

"What! Why?! Wh…"

"I needed your strength. I had to feed or I would have died. I could not heal my wounds. I mean you no harm."

"You can feed like that? How?"

"I need your energy any kind of human energy. Do not fear me. I mean you no harm."

"Stop saying that! Jesus, I'm just freaked out, not brain dead! How did you…? How did you make me let you do that?" His hands were shaking so badly he could hardly hold his pants up. She fought against the urge to grab him and empty him.

"I used the connection I now have with you. I had not the time or strength to explain and ask for permission. I was dying."

"Oh, well…sure…who are you? I deserve to know you're name at least. I mean after… this…" He moved his hand between them trying to convey what he couldn't find words for. She was trying to get to her feet when seven armed soldiers ran in and surrounded her aiming their weapons. Beckett was next to Rodney in matter of seconds.

"How ye feelin' lad?" He asked in a high pitched, panicked voice.

"Fine, considering…" The nurse accompanying Carson was maneuvering him onto the gurney they had set in front of him. "I'm fine! Let me be. I can walk!"

"Ye'r in shock. Lay down Rodney."

"Don't shoot her, all right? Just take her back with us. Trust me."

"We won't shoot anyone. Calm down and lay down or I'll sedate ye."

She was back down on the floor, her arms extended above her head, eyeing the marines suspiciously. "I surrender."

"Get up. Slowly." She did as Sheppard asked holding her hands in plain sight the whole time. She could do this. Humiliation was something she got used to long ago. She found it was not an easily forgotten lesson. She brought her hair around her body and the soft braids curled around her, hiding her nakedness. They were looking at her with a mix of horror and curiosity that let her know they were not very familiar with her kind.

She was escorted at gunpoint back to the stargate and then taken through the event horizon. When she exited the gate on the other side she was greeted with more guns pointing at her. Also the city was full of life. Her senses were overloaded. She could feel the humans and a few lanteans…but there were hundreds! Her palms itched and she closed her hands into fists. Feeding would come later. More important things had to be done now. Her eyes locked with those of the dark hared woman up on the balcony. She watched her moving determinedly towards her. The human woman was afraid. Yet she came close enough to touch.

"I am Elizabeth Weir the leader of this expedition."

"Leader? A human? But there are lanteans here. They obey you?"

"Lanteans…Right. Well, yes. Do you need medical attention?"

"I am healed." She smiled.

They escorted her to a new cage and she felt her chest tighten at the sight. New cage, old cage…Lanteans and cages. Her skin felt tight again and she fought for control. She walked into her new cage as if it was her lair. Nobody could tell what level of rage and despair she felt as the bars shut behind her. She knew there would be an energy field holding her back, not just the steel bars. She knew how lanteans kept their prisoners and this was their city. But the leader was a human. The lantean with the gun had not killed her because another human asked him not to…this was very different indeed. She clenched her teeth and willed herself to be patient. The lantean who had hurt her came into the room.

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Rodney hissed as the needle pierced his skin. He felt lightheaded. Someone else was cleaning the wound in his chest. He could feel her next to him even though he knew she wasn't even in the same room as he. Her presence was strong, from time to time he felt her on top of him again, felt her move over his body like the touch of a ghost. He shivered. Sleep claimed him without him feeling it.

"How is Dr. McKay?"

"He just…he has the wraith toxin is his bloodstream and the chest wound, but I can't detect any sign of aging or other tissue deterioration. He's drugged and some skin is missing from his chest, but other than that I can't find anything wrong with him. I need to examine the wraith as well. Will it cooperate?"

"She seems oddly good-natured. I need to know the results of your examination of her. Major Sheppard is interrogating her now. After that you can go and examine her."

"Dr Weir? What do you mean by good-natured?"

"Just that. We are keeping a close eye on her. And I'm not sure how I feel about having a new wraith prisoner after how things ended with the other one. I'm not authorizing experimentation, just a medical examination, Carson."

His eyes darkened shortly and he nodded his agreement to her words. Steve's death was still quite fresh in his memory too. He never thought he would conduct experiments on prisoners of war. Well he never thought he would do a lot of things and the highest on his list had been traveling to a different galaxy, applying genetic transformation on humans and studying alien life forms. But then the stargate program recruited him, he turned out to have the ATA gene naturally…things just spiraled out of control after that.

"I will ask her for tissue samples. I don't know enough about wraith anatomy and physiology to examine her. But I will only act on her consent."

Her lips were drawn in a tight line. She hated her job when it involved her going against all of her principles. Every reason she had chosen diplomacy as her field of expertise has been twisted into a mockery since she arrived to the Pegasus Galaxy. "I do not feel her consent will make it different from what it is. You have a go nevertheless." He nodded again and went to prepare his medical kit.

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"I'm Major John Sheppard, USA Air Force. Do you have a name?"

His question was met with silence. He sighed his frustration.

"Could I have clothes? I feel inadequate."

"Sure. I didn't mean…what should I call you?" He renewed his question while he motioned for one of the guard standing marines to go bring her clothes.

"I don't know what you mean by name."

"I'll just call you… Eve, ok?" He thought the force field off for a few seconds and handed her the robe the marine brought for her. She took it with a small bow of her head. He wanted to look away to afford her privacy while she put on the garment but watching her hair unwrap from around her at her will was mesmerizing. She pulled the robe closed and looked up again.

"You can move you're hair like that?"

"My hair is a functional part of me, yes. I can move it just like any other part of my body."

"Cool. So, what were you doing in that ancient lab?" He asked conversationally.

"I was a prisoner there. Like I am here."

"Why would they hold you there?"

"I was the subject of experimentation. They changed me. They made me be able to feed without killing…the subject."

"Like you did with McKay. How does that work?"

"I need a specific substance that is produced in the human blood by emotions. Strong emotions. It is how we all feed. But as we feed our source is compelled to produce all that substance in seconds and this process depletes their organisms. I cannot exert the substance I need from my source's organism. It has to be produced naturally so I can only absorb it. The humans fear me naturally, so their blood becomes rich with my nourishment. And their fear grows while I feed. They still die sometimes. Their heart stops."

"Right, how many of you are there?"

"I was the only one who survived. My companions were killed by the experiments. They were weak."

"No. I mean in general. How many ships?"

"Ships? How long has it been?"

Sheppard gritted his teeth in frustration. It felt like she was interrogating him.

"It's been 10.000 years since the lanteans left this … place. You were there for at least this long."

"The lanteans left? We won? Has the war ended? Then who are you? You are a lantean. And you respond to a human. I see."

"Why don't you just tell me everything you know about your kind, ok?"

Her green eyes narrowed and he would have sworn she was grinning at him.

"I have been locked in a cage…much like this one for the longest time. The lanteans did not kill me before they left. So I shut down my body's functions. I can live without feeding for a longer time that way. I thought they would come back. Or that eventually someone from my clan would come for me. I woke up hungrier then ever, alone. My cage was opened; I believe time has destroyed the power source that was keeping it closed. But the building was still locked. Only a lantean could open it. I did the only thing I could do. I went back to sleep. Then you came."

"And before the cage? Before you were captured? Tell me about that."

"Before… I lived with my clan. We were many. We inhabited a planetary system that revolved around a mekrane, a twin star. My home was located on the second moon circling the largest planet in the system."

"Your family owned a planetary system entirely? Wow. My parents had an apartment. Don't mind that. Go on."

"What more would you like to know?"

"Where is this planetary system? Could you point it out on a stellar map?"

"Yes. But I am sure my clan is not there anymore."

"I'm sure the anthropology department would be thrilled to hear more about your clan. I'm a soldier. I need to know how many ships you have. How big, what kind of weapons?"

"The war is not over? You must be very close to being defeated then."

"Why would you say that?"

"Well I assume only a few lanteans are still alive, and you recruited humans to aid you. But now you respond to a human leader. The lanteans I knew would not lower them selves so. They were worthy opponents. And better nourishment. I only wonder how you could sustain the war for this long. Neither of our kinds is capable to be at war for thousands of years."

"We are not lanteans. They left. We came in their place. The wraiths were all in hibernation when we arrived. I woke them up."

"You…what?! They were in slumber? We won?"

"The lanteans abandoned the fight."

She fell silent after that. They had won! The lanthians ran like scared little insects. And nobody had come for her. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth and it made her chest ache. They forgot about her and the others. All these centuries she had waited for a rescue that would never come. She would have eventually gone insane and she would have fed upon herself and she would have died in excruciating pains. The scream that was building in her throat finally escaped her dry lips, and when it did it was raw. The sound she let loose made the hair stand on the napes of all those present.

"They thought more of the lanteans than they should have. My clan did not come to rescue me in all this time."

"They abandoned you." Sheppard stated bitterly.

_No. They did not come because they believed me to be dead like the others. They did not think the lanteans would leave an outpost entirely and leave a living creature behind, captive. We do not do such things. We never imprison someone until they die. We feed; we kill those who are useless. I would have survived another ten thousand years. I would have waited. Forever._

But out loud she said "Yes. They abandoned me long ago. When I left my clan and refused to participate in the war."

"You refused? You can do that? I thought you were literally fighting for survival."

"I believed in different methods. I need to explain these things to someone who understands. You said yourself that you are just a soldier. I do not know the things that interest you. But your scientists might be interested in the things I do know."

"Fine. I have a mission report to give anyway." He activated his com. "Dr. Beckett? She's all yours."

He went straight to Weir's office. He knocked and let himself in. Zelenka and Simons were in there handing off reports of their own.

"Major, come in. Have a seat."

"I could come back later if you're busy now. I only came by now because you said I should as soon as I'm finished with the wraith."

"We really have new wraith?" Zelenka inquired interrupting before Weir could say anything. Sheppard smiled nodding.

"Doctors, we will finish this later. You can present your project in detail at this evening science meeting. Thank you." She waited until they were alone, and then leaned over the table. "What do you suggest we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"With the prisoner. Obviously I don't want a new Hoffa on our hands."

"Apparently she wants to help us. She is willing to offer information, but if I understood correctly she did not participate in the war. I'm guessing she was some sort of scientist. She wanted to speak to our science staff. She said they would understand what she had to say."

"And do we trust her?"

"She could have killed Rodney, but she didn't. She can feed without killing. She said that her clan abandoned her that they did not come to her rescue. She seemed shaken…well as much as a wraith can be I guess. We don't have to set her loose. But I wonder who will volunteer to feed her. Even if it's not fatal, it's pretty gruesome."

"That would be a no, then?"

"For now. Have you seen McKay?"

"I was in the infirmary, yes. But he was asleep. Dr Beckett says there are not ill effects to his body beside the obvious. He should be released in order to attend this evening's science staff meeting."

"She really didn't harm him."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything and I'm not worth suing.

A/N: By 'lantean' the wraith refers to the Ancients . This story is betaed by Phyllis, to whom I give many thanks. It was also read several times by my friend, Aila, who listened to me rambling on the subject for hours and encouraged me constantly.

Part two

Rodney woke up having the mother of all headaches grace him with its presence. The room spun mercilessly and he had to shut his eyes to prevent whatever it was he last ate from resurfacing. The pain ebbed in the next minute and he cracked an eye open to see if it would return. Nothing. Apparently it had to do with trying to sit up. He should be safe laying on his back then. Starring at the ceiling was an interesting enough task. Right. He tried to get up again, bracing himself for the pain. It washed over him like a bucket of ice cold water. Now it was time to get to his feet.

"You finally decided to join the world of the living."

"Yes, Carson, thank you for caring. Can I have some pain killers here; morphine sounds like heaven to me right now."

"Stop, stop, stop, lay back. What's wrong?"

"Other than my head imploding soon, not much, you?"

Beckett already started examining him, flashing that damn pen light into his eyes.

"I need a blood sample."

"Did I ever mention I hate needles?"

"Only every time I come near you with one. There all done."

"Are you going to sprinkle it around and chant now? Because, really, a painkiller would have sufficed."

"You still have wraith toxin in your blood. Your primitive brain is in hyper drive because of it, hence the headache."

"My what kind of brain? I mean is that a standard medical term or are you just trying to insult me? Because adding insult to injury is so not a good bedside manner thing."

"Your head will stop hurting soon. I'm releasing you from the infirmary. There are actually wounded people who need that bed. So go get some tea or something and report back in the morning for another check up."

Great. Tea. Well coffee would go so much further. Rodney made a bee line for the mess hall. Once he was up on his feet the pain subsided to a constant but bearable pressure in the back of his skull. He got himself the largest mug available and then decided to take it back to his lab and maybe get some more work done before the meeting. He walked to the transporter sipping the hot coffee on the way. His mind was occupied with the new set of equations he had been working on. It was particularly frustrating because he kept thinking himself in circles, the solution looming just outside his line of thinking. He was certain he could have solved it long ago if he could just dedicate it enough time. The doors of the transporter closed behind him, he put his finger to the location he wanted to go to on the map…yet when the doors opened again he found himself in an empty, dark hallway. _What the…_he could have sworn he had chosen his lab as destination. Could the transporters malfunction now? That would just make his day. A new problem to divert him from his equations. He activated his COM link.

"Zelenka? I seem to have a problem with a transporter… Zelenka? Radek? Oh, for the love of God! Hello!? Anyone?"

Oh, yeah. This was going to be one of those evenings when everything just went to hell. He stepped back into the transporter trying to figure out where he was. The map indicated … level 15?! But it was an uninhabited level… "Oh…" It was the level where they had kept Steve. He walked down the corridor and to the room where he knew she would be.

"Good evening Dr. McKay." A marine greeted him with a smile. "Came to talk to the wraith too?"

"Yes, yes. What do you mean, too? Who else has been here?"

"Well, there was Dr. Gaard from the biology department, Dr. Holden from anthropology, Dr. Kavanaugh from chemistry…"

"Huh. Why?"

"Well it turns out we got us a smart wraith this time. And she's spilling the beans."

"Right. I'm going in. She is secured, right?"

"Of course."

As he entered she turned to face him immediately. Some kind of twisted mockery of a smile graced her features. He went closer feeling his face going through many shades of purple.

"What are you doing? Are you still using that…that connection thing?"

"I wanted to see you."

"Excellent. I'm turning into a zombie. Why? What do you … no. No more feeding off me. No."

"I wanted to see you to know you were all right, and to ask for forgiveness. If I can offer comfort in any way, tell me."

"Comfort?! No! You think you can just use someone like that and then say you're sorry? What am I saying? Of course you do, you're a wraith! Stop using our connection. Let it fade or something."

"I can offer you the solution." She transmitted it then and Rodney was left blinking like an idiot and striving to follow her process of thought that was now downloading directly into his brain. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It was elegant, clean mathematical precision.

"How did you read my mind? How did you know about that equation?"

"When I feed I see things from my source. I did not mean to offend. It seamed to me you were in great need of this solution."

"What else did you see?"

"You mean from your secrets? From the secrets of the lanteans? Nothing I would have had to kill you in order to go that deep into your mind. And if I killed you, I could not use the information I got anyway since your companion would have killed me to."

"Right. I don't believe you. Damn it!"

"Eve."

"What?"

"Earlier you wanted to know my name. I have no name; I did not understand the question then. But the one who calls himself majorjohnsheppardusaairforce said my name can be Eve. You can call me that."

"Oh, I'm doomed. You know what, just stop this connection we have going, and I'll call it even. Why is it that you could force me to come here?"

"I summoned you. But I assume you responded to my call by your own free will. And the mathematical dilemma was again something you transmitted and I was just opened to receiving it."

"What other stuff can you do? Other than math I mean. Do you know your way around ancient technology?"

"My kind are fast learners."

Rodney pulled out his tablet and pulled up some of the ZPM schematics he's been working on.

"Are you familiar with this?" He asked holding it up for her to look at.

"That is not lantean technology. It belongs to those we used to call world makers."

"Who?"

"I believe they are now extinct. Legend had it the lanteans were their descendants."

"Right. Legend. Who were they? What else did they do?"

"I was very young when I first heard of them. The lanteans were trying to re-evolve into this originary species. We appeared as a result of their unsuccessful tries. Our biological ancestor is an insect like life form. The lanteans were intrigued by this insect's long life span and tried to bring it to humanoid form. All they managed to do while interfering with the natural process of evolution was to create us. Ever since then they were trying to wipe us out of existence. It is I believe the way humans evolved also. But humans must have been a closer match to what they were hopping to obtain. You seem disturbed by these facts. In the research facility where you found me you will also find proof of what I'm telling you."

"Back to our subject of discussion. Do you know how to perfect these schematics?" He forced his voice to remain calm.

"I need time to work on this. Can I have the device?"

"What, my tablet? No. I'll get you a clean one in the morning. Get some rest or whatever it is that you do at night. And don't summon me anymore. I will come and see you when I feel like it."

He found he felt like seeing her again very early the next morning, however. So he uploaded a new tablet with only the equations his brilliant team of moronic scientist had been unsuccessfully working on for moths and he went to level 15. She greeted him standing in the exact same spot he'd left her the night before. He could have sworn her eyes sparkled as he walked in. He fought the need to rub his chest where she had fed upon him. A chill ran through him at that particular memory. He braced himself, thought the force field off and handed her the tablet through the bars. She looked at him with something akin to awe. Her fingers brushed his hand as she took the tablet from him. Cold, velvety fingers. Deadly fingers, which could pry the life from his still beating heart. He felt like screaming and running for his life. She prolonged the touch as if sensing his terror and enjoying it. She smiled. _Feed me._

"So, I'll come back later and check your progress with those." He backed out of the room as fast as he could without tipping off the marines that stood guard on the fact that he was actually running from a caged prisoner. All he needed was people having more reasons to make fun of his cowardice.

She followed him with her eyes as he left. A human could manipulate lantean technology?! He was certainly not lantean, she would have felt it. But he turned the shield off and then on again. Things had changed while she slept. Atlantis was a pale replica of what it had been. And there was a new war. She looked at the equations he brought for her. At least she would not die of boredom. The pain caused by hunger made it hard for her to concentrate and think. So solving the puzzles would take longer than usual. Pain was distracting enough by it's self, but with humans all around her, just out of touch… it was pure torture. She called to her guards and asked to speak to the leader woman. It only took minutes for the blue eyed woman to come stand in front of her cage.

"You are prompt."

"How may I … well, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"I wish to assist your expedition. I will offer any information and aid that I am capable of. Yet, I must ask that you provide nourishment. I have not fed properly in more time than all your lifetimes put together. I will die."

"I see. You do understand that we cannot provide the kind of nourishment that you require."

"I do not kill my source. I ask for no sacrifice. Surely you can see the predicament I find myself in and that my pretences are not impossible to meet."

Elizabeth nodded shortly. She envied the wraith for its eloquent way of stating her case. If the person standing in front of her was not a very dangerous alien being, she would have been convinced that she had studied diplomacy and negotiation tactics for long enough to handle her self even in the middle of the most vicious peace treaty signings in Earth history.

"I will see what I can do."

"Thank you. I am sure you will find the best solution."

She called for a senior staff meeting even before she had left level 15. John, Rodney, Carson and Teyla were already in the conference room when she arrived.

"What was so urgent that I had to leave my very important work in the hands of incompetent dwarves in order to attend this meeting?" McKay jumped at her as soon as she entered.

"Our prisoner. We must make a decision. She asked to see me to ask to be fed."

"We knew this was going to come up sooner rather then later." Sheppard put in his two cents worth.

"We cannot let her starve. I will not authorize such treatment of a prisoner."

"And you're suggesting…?" He asked arching his brows.

"I'm asking for your input before I reach a decision."

"Dr. Weir, I cannot believe that you would feed a wraith! It is outrageous! My people and all humans in this galaxy…"

"I understand she feeds differently and the victim does not bear ill effects. Dr. McKay, have you had any side effects?"

"Other than the whole in my chest?"

"She is tactically useless. My vote goes for a swift execution." Sheppard finally voiced the thought that no one else in the room could put into words. The alternative to feeding her.

"What?! No! She, she can do amazing math and God knows what else! She's better than a computer…" McKay made himself shut up before he could finish his sentence.

"This being a civilian operation, and given that she's not a liability, on the contrary, it seems she can be useful in many ways… "Carson stopped in mid-sentence also.

"I'll do it."

Everyone in the room turned to him.

"McKay…" Sheppard's tone was warning.

"I said I'd do it. Well someone has to, so why not me? I've been there before. I can do it."

"I was thinking of something more like a public search for volunteers."

"If you want to drag it out, fine. In the end no one will offer them selves. It will still be up to me. I'm going to benefit the most from her expertise it's only fair."

"I agree with Major Sheppard. Killing it is the best option. To hold and feed a wraith is completely against the wishes of our ancestors! I and my people will have no part in it." Teyla said with barely controlled anger before she stormed out.

"So, it's three to two then? Guess I got a wraith to feed, huh?"

Rodney felt faint. He could not believe the words that came from his lips. He had to make fists to hide the violent shaking of his hands as he was escorted to level 15. Eve was smiling at him again and he swallowed the knot in his throat. The room was staked with marines, all pointing their guns at her. The shield however was down and the cage opened. Their presence was strangely not reassuring. Did he actually wish to be alone with a wraith and let it feed off of him? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, took off his shirt and advanced to stand in front of her.

_Please, don't do it like last time…not in front of them…_

_I will not hurt you…any more than I have to. You will feel pain. Will you give me your pain?_

_Yes. What ever you wish. Just don't do that. Don't make me…enjoy it…please._

He felt her arms go around him and bring him closer. Her opened palms splayed over his broad back, his muscles quivering under her touch. He wished he was alone with her so that no one could see his arms closing over her waist. So much skin! All the emotions playing within him fear, dread, pain, disgust, need, embarrassment. She would take it all. The way his chest arched into her bringing him closer when she breached him brought her satisfaction like she had not felt in thousands of years. The power and energy of his restless mind washed her pain away.

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The puddlejumper was set on a steady course for the mainland. John hated having to take Teyla away from Atlantis. It had been her wish not to return to the city of the ancestors before it would be purged of the presence of the wraith. Elizabeth's determination to keep the damned creature amazed him. He would have chosen to keep the loyalty of the athosians over keeping a wraith in the city at any given time. But all the scientists were taken with the knowledge the wraith shared. At every meeting he attended lately all he heard about was Eve this and Eve that. Nobody seemed to care that the insight to wraith technology was probably outdated, and the same was probably true for the combat style and strategy she had told them about. Nor did anyone show any interest in the fact that even if studying her physiology was exciting genetic research, the similarities with the other wraith might be insignificant given that she was a lab rat for the ancients. Rodney was the first to visit her in the morning and the last to leave her chamber at night. He had her assisting him with the ZPM calculus and he was confident he would be able to build one soon enough. That might have been the only thing that Sheppard deemed useful. Still he was reticent and suspicious about it. What if sweet little Eve was feeding Rodney a way to build some sort of bomb instead of a ZPM? He knew there would be tests and simulations before actually installing the ZPM when and if they were able to build one, but still…

"Major…" Teyla's concerned voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up in the direction she was pointing in. What he saw then knocked the breath out of his lungs. Dark gray clouds swirling and moving not very far ahead.

"That can't be a storm -- it stretches across the whole horizon."

"I've never seen something like that from so high.

"I've seen a lot of things from this altitude, but nothing like that." He activated the comms without taking his eyes off the menacing looking clouds. "Atlantis base, this is Jumper One. We're gonna change our heading to investigate a storm."

The connection was very poor and after getting what he assumed was an ok from Weir he made maneuvers to bring the jumper higher, above the canopy of clouds.

"Oh, shit! This is…"

"Do all storms look like this from above?" Teyla asked furrowing her brow.

"No." He called up a display on the screen in front of him. The reading made it clear that they were dealing with the mother of all hurricanes. "This must cover twenty percent of the planet. The velocity of the wind is unbelievable!"

"Is it headed towards the mainland?"

"It's tracking right towards the settlement." the concern in his voice matching hers.

"And after that?"

"Straight to Atlantis." he said still looking in disbelief at the readings on the screen. "You have to warn your people and we must start bringing them back to Atlantis. When this thing hits it will leave nothing in its wake."

"The city of the ancestors is home to a wraith now."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly crazy about that either. However she's our prisoner."

"My people and I will not share lodgings with a wraith."

"For God's sake Teyla! That storm will not only ruin your crop! It will kill anyone that stands in the way. There is nowhere else you can be safe but in Atlantis."

"I will talk to my people."

"Yeah, well maybe if you didn't mention Eve at all they would not have a problem in coming over to spend some time in Atlantis, eh?"

"You mean I should lie to them?"

"You don't know much about politics, do you? Look it's easy. Do you want yourself and your people to live or not? We don't have time to argue about this. I'm leaving you on the mainland and I have to return to Atlantis and warn them of what's coming. It's really your choice what you tell them."

The rest of the flight went by in tense silence. John was pushing his luck with the speed of flight and he almost missed the settlement entirely unable to reduce it in time. He managed however a spectacular 180 degree turn and settled the craft next to a small wooden house.

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"So the city will survive?"

"Yes. The chances are… well within the 90 area…"

"70." Zelenka spoke over Rodney's enthusiastic assessment.

"Fine….80 then, still very good chances. If we can harvest the energy of lightning, which we can, and with the interface I will write to make the hallways safely act like conductors, we will be able to sustain the shield to protect us from the tidal waves and other storm related horrors."

"We still need to evacuate majority of population. The only safe place, once lighting strikes will be control room."

"I was getting there! What Zelinsky said." Rodney gestured annoyed by the interruption.

"Zelenka!"

"Gentlemen! Focus." Elizabeth stopped their quarrel before it had a chance to escalate. "We still need to evacuate to Manara."

"I hate owing those guys a favor." Sheppard mumbled under his breath as he made his way out of the conference room and towards the jumper bay to help organize the groups of athosians being flown in.

Soon the city was silent. Except for the control room and the areas in vicinity to grounding stations everything had been shut down.

"That's everybody. We've got, uh, just over four and a half hours until the storm hits. Let's get down to the labs." Rodney said as the Gate shut down after the last group. He turned to leave followed by Elizabeth while John stayed behind to give the last instructions to the only two marines remaining.

"Evacuate the people on inbound Jumper Two as soon as they come in."

"Yes, sir."

"Then you go to level 15 and wait for further instructions." He said and than took of on a light sprint to catch up to Weir and McKay. They were both leaning over the display on McKay's laptop screen. He joined them in looking at the 3-D map of Atlantis.

"Can the city handle being transformed into an electric conduit?" Weir asked concerned at seeing the computer simulations Rodney was showing her. It just seemed impressively dangerous.

"Yes -- theoretically."

"Like dinosaurs turned into birds theoretically, or theory of relativity theoretically?" Sheppard pitched in sounding a lot less scared than he ought to be under the circumstances.

"What?! Uh, sort of between. Elizabeth -- you take grounding station two; I'll take grounding station one; Major -- you take stations three and four."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second -- where are stations three and four?" Sheppard interrupted again waving a hand in front of Rodney as if to scatter his words.

"Here and here." The two points he indicated on the map were at the edge of the city.

"And we are ...?"

At that McKay put his finger to the center of the map "Here, yes. I need to get done quickly so I can start working on the subroutines, and Elizabeth was complaining about her knee the other day ..."

"Wait, wait, wait a second. Are these things even close to a transporter?"

"Uh, yes, Elizabeth's is."

"And mine?"

"Uh, it's a brisk walk away."

"And by 'brisk', you mean ... 'far'."

"By 'walk', I mean 'run'."

"OK." Sheppard sounded resigned.

"You need to radio in once you've got to your first station. And no more useless stupid questions! We are on a tight schedule!"

"Alright, let's do it."

They split up each bent on his task. Sheppard ran towards the closest grounding station of the two he had to disengage.

"Sir, Jumper Two is still on the mainland. They just checked in to say they'll have to wait the storm out there."

"Lovely! Stand by. Sheppard out."

He continued his run and as he got to grounding station four Rodney and Elizabeth announced their tasks were completed successfully. He punched in the code McKay dictated over the radio and made his way to the last station. The shortest route meant running up two flights of stairs and continuing in a strait line. This was one of those times he just hated grunt work.

"Apparently there are wounded coming in." Weir's voice came over the radio.

"That doesn't make any sense. Who is it?"

"I'm headed to the control room now. I will ask them momentarily."

"Right. Tell McKay not to forget about Eve unless he wants to fry his precious wraith-computer."

"I can hear you, you know! And of course I didn't forget about her. As soon as we sort out the incoming wounded problem, I'm heading over to move Eve."

The control room was swarming with people. None wounded. The two marines they left guarding the Gate were dead on the floor. _Great!_ Rodney said to himself recognizing Kolya in the smugly grinning man who stood in the balcony looking down on the gate room. All thoughts of Eve fled his mind as panic took over.

"You must be Doctor Elizabeth Weir?"

"Yes? And you are?"

"And that is Doctor Rodney McKay."

"You seem to know a lot about us, yet I know nothing off you."

"They are Genii." Rodney finally spoke.

"I am Commander Acastus Kolya. And right now all you need to know is that we are in control of Atlantis."

Things just went down hill from there on. He explained there was a storm coming that threatened to sink the city, but Kolya; the sneaky bastard figured out that he must have had a plan since he stayed behind. All he could do was lean casually over a console while not so casually he pressed down the buttons that let Sheppard hear a part of their conversation over the radio. He managed to shut down the power everywhere else in the city except the control room and the last grounding station. As the Genii soldiers took him to a different room to persuade him to share the plan to save the city he remembered Eve.

She had felt the sudden surge in human energy as the Genii flooded the Gate Room. She was also very aware of the rise in Rodney's fear. The connection she had with him only grew with every feeding. It was not perfect yet, but she could sense much more than she let him know. Suddenly the force field went out leaving only steel bars holding her prisoner. She grinned with satisfaction. She could handle steel bars. She grabbed two of them on the lower half of the cage and with one swift motion tore them out. She proceeded to crawl out through the opening. Everything was drowned by darkness and silence. She made her way over to the lower levels careful not to give away her presence. She encountered no one. Her goal was to find the human. She could feel he was terrified of something, or someone. His fear felt like a living creature imprisoned in her chest. As she got closer to the Control Room she could hear voices. But she only recognized one of them, that of Dr. Weir. She went around the Control Room and into a small corridor to the left. At the end there was a door and behind that door was Rodney McKay. She opened the door by force, surprised there was not an ancient lock mechanism functioning. McKay was tied to a chair and one man was twisting a knife slowly in his forearm, making his blood spill into an already impressive puddle on the floor. Other two looked very amused by his screams and whimpers. She smiled.

_Enemy, Eve!_ Her smile grew wider just as they started shooting their primitive riffles at her. She moved fast enough that only five bullets tore into her flesh. She jammed her palm into a man's chest propelling him into the wall opposite her. She drained him within seconds as her wounds closed. Another man had flung himself on her back trying to choke her to make her let go of his companion while the third, the one with the knife, let go of Rodney and was trying to reload the gun the first enemy had emptied in her direction. She raised her hair from her shoulders and brought it around the throat of the man who had jumped on her back. The magenta braids snaked around his flesh and began to squeeze even as she made her way across the room to the third man. She knocked the gun out of his hands and hit him in the forehead with the bridge of her palm. The one behind her was choking and yet fighting to get free making it difficult for her to fight efficiently. One of them had to die in order for her to be able to feed of the other one. She reached behind her and grabbed the arm of enemy number two flicking him on the floor in front of her. Enemy number tree was already trying to clear his head enough to stand up and run out of the room. She couldn't have that. She hissed at him and grabbed him by the throat. One wicked twist of her wrist made the bones in the man's neck break with the sound of dried wood. She dropped the dead body and leaned over the last one his screams of horror died with him as he shriveled away.

From his chair, Rodney stared at her wide-eyed. She freed the knife from between his bones making him cry out in pain. She laid her hand over the hole in his arm and a clear liquid spilled from her palm into and over the wound sealing it efficiently. Then she cut through the ropes and helped him to his feet. He staggered after her losing his balance after only a few steps. She kept him from falling over and lifted him in her arms to carry him away. He felt limp, paralyzed with fear and nausea. So he took big breaths and concentrated on regaining control over his trembling hands. He showed her the way to his room in his mind and then they were there in no time at all.

"You are fast…strong. Intimidating, actually." He rummaged through the drawer of his night stand and pulled out a power bar. "My blood sugar is kinda low. If I don't eat I go into hypoglycemic coma and then I die." He explained, speaking around a mouth full of chocolate flavored piece of bar. "I'll be fine in about ten to twenty minutes. Then we can…Oh, my God! You…you, you just killed those men back there! I thought you couldn't do that!"

"I don't need to. Yet I am capable of feeding normally. You said they were enemies, and I could feel your hate towards them. I know you wished them dead."

"No, that's… well see, my species doesn't think their wishes will come true. They are the Genii. They attacked us at our weakest, took us as hostages and they want to take over the city. I cannot let that happen because…well because of your kind. We are better at defending this city. And by defending this city we…we, we defend my entire galaxy. So it's important that we keep Atlantis. I need your help." He ended his explanation quickly, raising his chin to a mutinous angle. She looked at him long and hard as if trying to decide something important. Her green eyes sparkled with life like he never saw them do before. Her entire being seemed filled up with light and he could have sworn her skin had a glow to it. His heart was pounding with fear and excitement. The cold sweat due to hypoglycemia was forgotten by now and so was the sharp pain in his arm. The liquid was hardened into a white crust over the wound and although it still hurt a lot it didn't make him want to scream himself unconscious anymore. He had his very own wraith to use as a weapon!

"I understand. Are the others held also?"

"No. there are no others really, just Elizabeth. Major Sheppard is somewhere around. He was… Damn! I need to communicate with him!" He ran over to his desk and pulled out his laptop and a portable power unit. He typed furiously for a few minutes then he pushed enter with a sound of victory. "Major Sheppard, do you read me?"

"Rodney? That you?"

"Yes, yes obviously. Where are you?"

"Jumper bay. What is the status?"

"Well Kolya and his happy Nazi bunch are still holding Elizabeth hostage. I'm at my quarters with Eve."

"Did you just say you are with the wraith?"

"She helped me escape…they were sort of torturing me."

"Well secure her in level 15 and meet me in jumper bay two, ASAP!"

"I can't do that. Level 15, like the rest of the city has been powered down. Did you disable both you grounding stations because time is running out? Only 78 minutes left till full impact."

"Grounding station three is held by the Genii. I did not get to disable it. And there was shooting there…let's just say the damned thing has seen better days. How many hostile in Gate Room?"

"Well at first it was about twenty people but as they took me to another room the Gate dialed. They're probably a lot more by now. Eve took out the three that held me."

"Right." Sheppard's voice was neutral. But Rodney could just picture his eyes going dark at that news. He thought it best not to go into detail.

"I'm heading over to the grounding station with Eve. Meet us there?"

"Can she take the guards out?"

"I believe so. Why?"

"Then you go and take care of that. I'm waiting for jumper two to come in from the mainland before heading to the Gate Room. See you when I see you. Sheppard out."

"Understood." Rodney cut the link and closed the laptop with a grim expression. He needed to hurry. He packed everything he needed and he could find in his room into a backpack. "All right. The grounding station is pretty far and we can't use the transporters, so it's gonna be quite the workout… well for me anyway. When we get there, hopefully without encountering anyone on the way, you will dispatch the Genii standing guard and I'll disconnect the grounding station. Got it?" Eve just looked at him, her eyes expressionless. "Right. Let's go."

They made their way through the green glow of Atlantis corridors.

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"Commander, Major Sheppard was not secured, I repeat, Major Sheppard was not secured. He has killed Doren, Hiram, Scoff and Mwen. The target is guarded."

"Do not pursue the Major any longer. Guard the station at all costs and make use of lethal force if Sheppard comes anywhere near you. Understood?"

"Yes, commander."

"How are the technicians advancing on disconnecting the grounding?"

"No progress yet, commander."

"Sora, go get Doctor McKay. Maybe now he will cooperate." Kolya threw Elizabeth a wicked smile that made her stomach roll and churn. It was his turn to look sick when Sora came running back, face white as a sheet.

"McKay…is gone commander. The wraith are among us. The men with him… they are desiccated!"

"What kind of trick is this?" He demanded, his voice full of rage as he grabbed Weir's arm pulling her up from the chair she was sitting in.

"I have no idea."

"Yes, you do! He dragged her after him to the small chamber and pushed her down next to one of the mummified bodies. "What happened to my men?" Elizabeth stared in horror as she tried to figure out if one of the unrecognizable bodies was Rodney's. "Are you harboring a wraith? Are you their allies? That would explain why you refused to help us in developing our weapons against them!"

"No! Look, there is a wraith prisoner in the city. It must have escaped when the power was cut prematurely due to your arrival. Please! It must be recaptured before…"

"It will. By my men! How incredibly arrogant your kind is! Is it not enough that you claim the rights to inherit Atlantis before the children of the ancestors in this galaxy can have a word in the matter? We deserve it as much as you do, if not more! But now, you think you can actually tame a wraith! And my men are now paying for your foolishness!" He hit her over the face with the back of his hand. She wiped away a single tear as he started yelling into his radio. "Mowrian, do you hear me? Are you still at the grounding station?"

"Ye… mann….er. reaki…up." Static buzzed over the radio as the storm was now close enough to interfere.

"Listen to me Mowrian! There is a wraith free in the city! Did you hear me? (static)…Mowrian!" Kolya listened, shoulders tense, fingers gripping the radio so hard they went white. Nothing but white noise and time seemed to stretch out indefinitely. Then sounds of a fight, screams and the sick sound of a body hitting the ground. He could not make out the word his men screamed over the static, but he didn't need to. He knew what it was. "You! You better have those codes, because it is the only thing keeping you alive right now!"

He dragged her brutally back to the Control Room. He gave orders to a group of seven men to head out to the grounding station and makes it disengage no matter what. He sent out others to bring Rodney back. Then he settled into waiting and glaring at Elizabeth. At least she knew Rodney wasn't dead. But was he hurt? Did he manage to get away from the wraith? She wished they would just bring him back, so she could see he was all right.

The only real problem Rodney McKay had was being socked to the skin and freezing. He concentrated at working an interface between the grounding station and his laptop without getting himself electrocuted. The wind was so wild it felt like it was a living creature bent on blowing the flesh off his bones. The rain kept getting in his eyes and moving his injured hand was pure hell. Yet he was grateful for all the distraction and noise the storm provided. This way he could pretend he had not heard the agonizing screams of the Genii guards. One of them, the lucky one in Rodney's opinion, got flown over the railing of the balcony. He probably screamed all the way down where he was crushed by huge, ice cold waves. The other two soldiers suffered the faith of those who tortured him just an hour ago. She left the technicians alive to help him and was now holding his gun on them.

"All right: turn that switch and hold down that button at my signal!" Rodney screamed over the whine of the approaching storm. He counted down holding up fingers. Then the connection sprung into life and he could use his laptop instead of the damaged controls of the ancient machine. "Yes! HA! It worked!" The grounding rod separated at its middle. "To the Control Room!" He called out to Eve. She was already a step ahead of him as she was just finishing draining the life out of the last Genii scientist. As she dropped the dry body a particularly deep and vicious looking cut healed over the right side of her throat. "Stop! Stop! What are you doing?! Who told you to do that?" She just gave him a blank stare for a second and then turned away to lead the way back to the Gate Room. Later he would throw up until there was nothing left in his clenching guts. Now he just followed her and they broke into a sprint. He had five minutes left to get to the main control console, rewrite a last subroutine and engage the shield before they all ended up fish food on the ocean floor. Gunfire could be heard two hallways away. And as every instinct he had told him not to he hurried even more. He was out of breath when they arrived. Gate Room floor was scattered with dead bodies. Kolya held Weir in a head lock with a gun pressed up against her right cheekbone.

"Let her go, Kolya!" Sheppard screamed aiming his P-90.

"You would not risk hitting the good doctor over here!" Kolya spat at him over Elizabeth's shoulder while he backed up slowly towards the opened wormhole.

"I'm not aiming at her!" Sheppard gritted out between his teeth as if he had no care in the world and pulled the trigger. The single shot got Kolya in the shoulder and he fell back through the event horizon just before the gate closed. Rodney rushed over to the mainframe console and punched in the security protocol codes not paying attention to Kolya and Sheppard. Time for watching the show was a luxury he couldn't afford. His fingers flew over the keyboard, his mind was racing.

"Redirect current… energy level… come on, come on! Yes! Now!"

And then there was a shield between them and nature's rage. They were all looking at each other with bright eyes. Elizabeth came over to him and gave him a hug. She only noticed Eve was behind him when she pulled back from the hug to examine his face. The wraith's green eyes froze the blood in her veins and she instinctively took a step back.

Eve took her own step back realizing the human woman's fear. Then she stood there with her arms pulled tight around herself. She watched them dial Manara and make contact with their people there, making sure they were not hostages themselves. She watched Rodney, pale and trembling with exhaustion working relentlessly to ensure the shield's resistance. He only stopped when the eye of the storm was above Atlantis. Carson was instantly next to him.

"Your blood sugar levels must be low enough to make you feel it. You need food, Rodney."

"Yes, well the places where food is are not close enough for someone to get there and back before I have to put the shield up again. And when I do that anyone in the hallways of the city will be fried like barbecue gone very, very wrong. Now just let me catch my breath…and…I'll be fine. Besides, I just eat a little while ago. I'm just tired, but…really no big deal."

"You're going to the infirmary as soon as it's safe!"

"Right."

The roar of nature cut the conversation short and Rodney was engrossed in working the commands again. He felt like the damned storm would never pass and he was doomed to stand there and push buttons while his head swam with dizziness forever. All he was aware of were the readings on the screen in front of him and what he needed to do to keep fires from starting anywhere because of overloads. But then the storm did pass. The screen went blue and everything around him faded. Eve was at his side within seconds grabbing him under his arms to break his fall.

"Where is this infirmary?" She asked Beckett in a soft but firm voice ignoring Sheppard and Ford aiming their guns at her.

"This way." Said Carson and everyone followed suit.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own anything and I'm not worth suing.

A/N: By 'lantean' the wraith refers to the Ancients . This story is betaed by Phyllis, to whom I give many thanks. It was also read several times by my friend, Aila, who listened to me rambling on the subject for hours and encouraged me constantly.

Part tree

Rodney McKay was rushing through the corridors of Atlantis. He was late. He, of all people, had overslept. He barely allowed himself to brush his teeth before running out from his quarters to the nearest transporter. He hated being late as a rule, but most of all he hated the looks of compassion he knew this would earn him from his colleagues. This was the sixth day since the storm had come and passed and finally the damage control inspections were nearing an end. There were still some remote parts of the city below the eastern pier but they didn't use those areas so they could wait. As soon as he'd got released from the infirmary, Rodney went straight to work. Tones of things needed to be done and he'd already lost two and a half days lying in a semi-conscious state at the mercy of Carson's nurses. There were sweep teams to coordinate and safety protocols to be rewritten. The wound in his arm was healing nicely, although it still proved painful. The fluid Eve had poured into it to seal it apparently served well as an antiseptic so the infection was avoided. And she was back in her cage. That was exactly the subject he was going to bring up at today's meeting. It made him angry that everyone chose to ignore the fact that she'd saved his life. He couldn't even explain it to himself, but he wanted her out of the damned cage. It hurt him to see her locked up. He could feel her pain more and more, and it was making him uneasy. Sometimes, it felt as if he was the one being caged up. Just the other morning, while allowing her to feed off of him he found himself whispering a promise in her ear. They were alone in the chamber that held the cage. The other inhabitants of the city were busing themselves with inspections and repairs. He woke to her voice in his head. Telling him she was hungry. He was still half numb with sleep when he reached her cage, locked himself in there with her and took his shirt off before embracing her. It was beyond his control. _I feel fear, Rodney! _Eve told him silently as she fed on his similar emotion. She let him hold her long after she was done. One of his trembling hands found its way into her hair caressing it while the velvety soft braids curled around his wrist and came up to return the caress playing over his cheek.

Now he was determined to keep his word. As expected, the rest of Atlantis's senior staff was already in the conference room.

"Dr McKay, we were just getting started." Elizabeth reassured him. And there it was that look! Elizabeth's concerned eyes were mirrored in Carson's. Sheppard hid his feelings better.

"Right, let's get the ball rolling, then, hmm?" He smiled while taking his seat. "The repairs, I'm proud to report are going well. The storm caused some systems to fail, as we all know. Fortunately nothing vital."

"Good to hear. Now if we could move to the subject we neglected until now. We are still holding a wraith. Before the storm we were going to have this meeting to decide what to do, and if the risks were worth taking. The subject is now on the table."

"I have learned a great deal about her physiology and about how different she is from her race. Apparently, she started her life as an iratus. The ancients observed somehow that the iratus could feed on feelings and they hoped to use that to help themselves ascend faster. So they experimented."

"And they got what? Wraith?"

"Aye. Now the wraith evolved from the iratus species over generations of the bugs feeding off the human population and incorporating human DNA into their own gradually. In Eve's case, the evolution was somewhat more rapid. They meddled with her DNA enough to make her evolve in her own lifetime. Of course they soon learned that by feeding their negative feelings to iratuses they were by no means getting rid of them. They continued the research trying to obtain longer lifetimes for themselves as the iratus and the wraith can live for thousands of years. She says she's the only survivor of those experiments that involved her and a male iratus. So she's not exactly a wraith genetically."

"You hear that McKay? You're girlfriend is a bug!" Ford said amused, but his smile quickly faded as no one else seemed to find it funny.

"So, how old is she?"

"I'm more concerned with the implications of these assumptions. This means that the ancients made the wraith intentionally and released them on the human population. And then changed their minds when it became clear to them they could not contain their creation."

"So they weren't all knights in shining armors, so what? They learned from their mistakes. Too bad they made such a huge one." Elizabeth pulled her lips into a tight line at John's comment, her disappointment obvious.

"Well, for my two cent's worth, she knows a lot about quantum and astrophysics. What? This city's priority is getting a Zed P M. I believe she can help me figure out how to make one. I say we keep her. And, also I think we should rethink her accommodations."

"It's too much of a security risk. I'm not having a wraith running freely around Atlantis!" Sheppard's tone was flat, but everyone in the room could sense the anger boiling underneath the surface.

"She's not a real wraith. And she helped with the Genii situation when she could have taken the chance to escape."

"Did it ever occur to you in all your brilliance that she might just want to gather information before she leaves?"

"Look, she had the only chance to escape and gave that up to actually save my life. Now if we move her out from the cage and give her quarters of her own, well frankly I don't see why we should not do it. As a gesture of good faith on our part."

"What if she escapes?" Ford intervened hating the bewildered look on John's face.

"How could she? We can control her access to the gate and otherwise we are in the middle of the ocean."

"She told you she can't swim and you believed her?"

"No, you moron. I'm actually pretty sure she could swim. But if you would have paid attention you might have picked up that she is actually a humanized iratus. And iratuses tend to die when in contact with salt water. I'm sure even your pea sized brain can work out the subtle connection between ocean water and salt, right?"

"What if she goes on a killing spree and goes through the gate. The incident with the Genii has proven that she can do it." said Ford unfazed by Rodney's insults.

"That is where I come in. In the generous amount of free time I have, I worked out this little device. It's simple really, so I'll get right to it. If Carson implants this in her body, I guarantee it will blow her to tiny little pieces if she goes through the gate. And if we tell her that, she won't try it given she has a great amount of self preservation. And, to skip your next question entirely, I have a few ideas about how to stop her from feeding on any of us like she did with the Genii. With Carson's help we may be able to control what kind of enzyme she uses to feed."

"That is right! There are two types off enzyme used in her feeding process… but I'm not sure, Rodney. I'll need to run some more tests."

"Well, let's get to it then, hmm?!" Rodney looked at Elizabeth triumphantly and questioningly.

"If it's possible to ensure our safety, sure. You have a go."

"Has it completely escaped you that this…this human-bug thing is perfectly capable to snap someone's neck without breaking a sweat?" Sheppard tried one last warning weakly, knowing this was an argument he'd lost already.

"So can you, Major. But we don't keep you in cage." came Rodney's answer just before he followed Carson to his lab.

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Eve sat on the examining table idly dangling her feet, avoiding looking at the two soldiers pointing rifles at her. Carson was observing her blood and feeding fluids under a microscope while Rodney just stood to the side fiddling with the small device they explained would have to be implanted. She not only understood, but also appreciated their fear of her, hence kept herself from commenting over these measures. They stirred her anger, true, but she was prepared to suffer anything if it meant no more cages. So when the medic suggested cutting out the enzyme sack that enabled her to drain her victims she said nothing.

"I'm sorry. It seems to be the only way we can be sure you won't kill anyone on this base. I can work on a serum that would inhibit your organism in producing the enzyme. But I need time. And I can't guarantee success. If you want out of that cage now, we need to remove the gland entirely. It is definitively your choice, lass."

"You may not be lanteans, but I can see the resemblance. I have not been free in thousands of years. "Her voice was calm and collected. Rodney closed his eyes to repel the shudder her words started inside him. "I want to be free. Cut as much of my flesh as you will, but ….free me"

"Carson, do we have to do that? Are you sure you can't…?"

"Aye. Right now there is no other choice. What concerns me is that as far as my tests have revealed, there is no substance to put you out with. I would hate to operate without an anesthetic. Do you know of anything that would make you sleep?"

"No."

"Oh, God…" Rodney muttered more to himself. He resolutely pushed the vivid images out of his mind.

"Let's get to it then, shall we?" Carson pulled on his surgical gloves, while one of the marines secured Eve's hands above her head with plastic restrainers. She fixed her gaze onto Rodney's eyes as he put his own surgical mask in place, swallowing hard. The scalpel caught the artificial light in the room on its blade. _Look into my eyes. I don't want you to see my blood._ Her voice offered small comfort to his panic driven mind. Carson made the first incision to the side of her left breast. Her bluish skin yielded to steel reveling gray flesh and releasing rivulets of black blood, thick and shiny. It felt like he was receiving the cut himself and all the fine hairs stood to attention at the back of his neck. When the medic rinsed the blood away it was easy to see the gash now went from breast to armpit. It was deep and oozing. A nurse appeared at Carson's side taking over the control of the small hose like appendix that was used to rinse the blood off. His hands worked fast, continuing to cut into her before her body could react and start healing and closing up the wound. Her left arm shook, nerves wound up tight, and Rodney reached out to stroke it, trying to sooth her.

"Doctor…please…hurry. I can feel…I'm going to heal." She ground out between clenched teeth.

Doubling his efforts, Carson moved faster. He made cut after cut pulling on the enzyme sack to free it from her body. Her neck arched back, her face the image of agony. Rodney grabbed her hand as she hissed like his cat used to do back on Earth when he accidentally stepped on its tail. He could see the structure of bone incasing still a part of the sack.

"I can't break through it! Get a bone saw, STAT!" Carson yelled in his high pitched Scottish accent, the kind he only took on when deeply distressed. He continued to cut at the cords of muscle that kept growing back over the sack. They were like small serpents lashing out at the intrusion. Eve's back lifted off the bed as the saw was lowered over her bones. She hid her contorted face under her arm, facing away from the wound in her side. All Rodney could do was stare at her, holding onto her. He knew he would never be able to forget the dry smell of her blood. "Place the device, now!" Rodney reacted mechanically. He pushed the small piece of alloy into her wound and barely managed to take his hand away as her muscles swirled around it. Eve was now panting exhaustedly, lying limp on the operation table. Her blood just kept coming, widening the stain on the white, sterile sheet.

_Rodney…help me…please!_

"Carson, could you dress her wound so I can get her out of here?"

"I separated a bed in the infirmary for her. I think she should be under supervision…"

"Carson, she's scared. Look at her! She knows me. I think she trusts me. I can handle her." He tried to make his tone sound calm and reasonable. But all he could think of was getting Eve to his room and hold her until her shivers passed. He felt savagely jealous of any other hands touching her. He hadn't felt this way since his cat got ran over by a car and almost died. He made it his goal to take her away from the place she'd suffered in and those who inflicted the pain. He hoped to God Carson wouldn't resist him on the subject. He already felt very on the edge.

"You are not fit to nurse a house plant! You are not gonna do her any good, Rodney." Carson argued while dressing the wound.

"I'll have you know I had a cat back on Earth and…and he was just fine! And he loved me!"

"I'm concerned about you. I think you should have a chat with Dr. Heightmeier. Really, Rodney, you look exhausted yourself, lad. And while I understand you might feel grateful towards …um…Eve, but that is no reason for…"

"Wanting to return the favor? Out of all the people on this base she knows me best. I have been feeding her since she got here, for Christ's sake! She's almost catatonic. I can help her."

"Ro-dney…" Eve's broken voice came barley above whisper level. McKay crossed his arms over his chest, his chin jutting forward in a challenging pose as if to say 'see, I told you so'.

"She can hardly speak and you expect her to walk away with you? Look, I can arrange for a second bed to be set up next to hers if that's the only way to get you to get some shut eye." Rodney knew not to press his luck and nodded his agreement. She was moved into a separate reserve, and Carson made the arrangements for the second bed. The room was extraordinarily small; its original use had probably been closer to storage cabinet than private hospital reserve so the beds were pushed together with no fuss. Eve's still form was laid on the bed closer to the wall. With one last warning of 'get some sleep or else' Rodney was left alone. He climbed into the second bed, never taking his eyes off Eve. He felt a smile forming as he became aware he was thinking of her as Eve more and more lately. No more 'it/she/the wraith', but Eve. He reached out to caress her cheek, but didn't dare touch so his hand just hovered in the air above her pale skin. Sheppard had called her a computer and Rodney had thought that was the right definition, albeit twisted. Now he thought that witnessing or performing a change of hardware parts in a computer had never taken such a toll on him in the past. Nor did it leave him weak in the knees. He loved his computers. That was not the issue. What it was was that computers didn't bleed or scream in pain. His hand finally touched her skin at that thought and it was cool and smooth under his fingers. Her eyes slid open and their intense green glow slowly focused on his face. Everything felt beyond his control as he moved away just enough to take his shirt off. He joined his hand to hers and shuddered as he felt the opening of her feeding slit press against the skin of his palm as a result. He could feel it move, tiny, sharp spikes adorning its edges scraping his skin. Eve made no move. It looked like a huge effort for her to keep her eyes focused.

"Do you want to…? " He trailed off moving her open palm to his chest and holding it flat against himself there. The spikes caressed his skin as if she couldn't breach it. "Try. It'll make you heal faster." Rodney urged pressing her hand harder over his skin even as a small voice in the back of his mind screamed he was insane. He was asking, no pleading with a wraith to feed on him?! Every shred of common sense he still had argued a strong case against that. Yet somehow the dark bright green of her eyes seemed to make a stronger case. Eve let out a strangled breath as she obviously made an effort to comply with his absurd request.

"Pain…burning." Was all she managed before her hand went slack in his again. This wasn't going to work. He could not help her. Fear spread over his nerve endings at the thought of her starving, unable to ever feed again. Heavy lids covered her eyes and he taped on her hand to get her to look at him again.

"What can I do? How do I help you?" He could swear she gave him a weak smile that made his gut twist painfully.

"Sleep. Must sleep." Her soft voice echoed in his mind and he set her hand back on the bed beside her.

"I'll be here when you awake." Rodney settled on his bed after carefully pulling his shirt back on. Her eyes closed again and soon afterward his did the same.

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The pain kept her mind alert. It felt like a blanket of pure fire was wrapped around her torso. The wound healed slowly but the real source of the pain was the small device that was implanted in her side. Her flesh refused to contain it. She could feel her body already trying to remove it. The human's mind was opening more and more for her and he was vulnerable. She could feel him breaking, less and less able to control himself around her. Yet not all his affection was a product of the substances she drove into him while feeding. There was something genuine about his gentleness. She could not understand it. Humans either naturally feared her or adored her because of her mind altering substances. It was as if this one actually wanted to be good to her. Thinking kept her mind from submitting to the pain. At some point she felt his hand touching her cheek again. Soft, reverent caresses his fingers nimble and warm, so warm against her skin. She willed her hand to move and wrapped her fingers on his wrist. There was a sharp intake of breath telling her he hadn't expected her to move. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. This human was very different indeed. She let her hand travel up his forearm, over his elbow, higher, over a pectoral muscle. His hand came up next to hers, opening his shirt, letting her feel skin. He held her opened palm over his chest, just like before. Only this time she was stronger. The feeding spikes pierced his skin, injecting the enzymatic fluid. His voice was a broken plea, as his breathing picked up pace. His mind opened for her and suddenly it felt like he was actively pulling her in, wanting her, needing her. The rush of pleasure that overwhelmed her almost dissolved her pain. And she transmitted the feeling back to him, creating a loop between their minds.

He felt strong, and alive, and vibrating under her touch. She opened her eyes at that, _look at me!_ And then his opened too: dark pools contained in thin circles of blue.

"Eve… I… please!"

His very soul opened under her touch, emotions pouring over. It was then she knew she had broken him. His last defenses were breached. She mirrored his feelings, unable to find any of her own to match his. His loneliness could only be compared to her desire to find freedom. He was the perfect choice. Now all it would take was patience, but hers was worn thin. He bit his lip to keep silent while she fed. When she was done he lifted her hand to his mouth to kiss the slit in her palm, tasting his own blood there. She saw in his mind how he wanted to kiss her mouth… a human way to express love, closeness. Her kind had no such notion. It intrigued her. He was seeking a physical closeness. Ah, she had forgotten it was the way of the humans. She knew it would only serve to bind him to her further. She wondered briefly if she could bring herself to let him achieve such closeness to her. He looked up at her with pleading eyes as he leaned over. She felt herself stiffen. She managed to turn her face at last avoiding his lips. If and when she would deem it necessary, of course she would do anything for her freedom. It didn't feel necessary yet. She moved across the bed and stood. "I'm sorry. I…I...I wasn't thinking…" She held her hand out to him and he took it, following her back to the infirmary. The medical exam was soon over and Rodney walked her to her new quarters. He seemed reluctant to leave her alone. "I need to be by my self."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own anything and I'm not worth suing.

A/N: By 'lantean' the wraith refers to the Ancients . This story is betaed by Phyllis, to whom I give many thanks. It was also read several times by my friend, Aila, who listened to me rambling on the subject for hours and encouraged me constantly.

Part four

She felt joy. For the first time, in longer then she could remember, she felt energy. She was closer to the creature she had been before her captivity. Months had passed since she had been assigned to her own rooms. And she felt bored. She got to the point where she was looking forward to Rodney's visits. But now there was something akin to the restlessness of hope in her soul. Tree hive ships were on course for Atlantis. She would either live to see those of her kind again, or die waiting for their arrival. She heard the human Rodney called Zelenka saying the ships were traveling through hyperspace and they would soon reach Atlantis.

As she stood on the balcony, her gaze wondered across the dark night sky. She held on to the rail and closed her eyes in concentration. She remembered how to seek the link. It was almost easy. The familiar tingle across her forehead let her know the connection was successful.

"Greetings, Queen of the Mekrane!"

"You are welcome. I do not recognize your Origin. Are of the Sisterhood?"

"I am your fore bearer."

"I don't understand. All the fore bearers are dead. And they have been for thousands of cycles."

"I am the last one. I was borne on Mekrane."

Eve sent images and feelings and pain. The Queen brought her hands up to cover her face. Eve knew she sent too much, but as the Queen tumbled from her throne she couldn't help the satisfaction that rushed over her.

"Stop! Stop! I understand! I believe!"

"I am now in the lantean city of Atlantis. I know you and two other Queens are headed this way."

"We seek passage to new feeding grounds."

"Earth is the planet of origin for the new inhabitants of this city. I know of it."

"What do you want fore bearer?"

Eve felt her anger rise. This young Queen was not about to recognize her true nature. But she didn't let the anger bleed over the link. She kept herself calm and asked for asylum.

"My freedom, Queen of the Mekrane I will render assistance to your fleet. In exchange you grant me free passage to my home."

"Consider it so. You may live at the fortress on the Green Moon."

"My gratitude is yours. We shall speak again."

Eve closed her mind. She was Queen of the Mekrane, not some new borne fifth generation female who was unable to identify her without her consent. And she had the audacity to offer her asylum on the Green Moon! When she was borne the Green Moon was still an orange desert. Eve felt more determined than ever to take back all she once lost. Her resolution was made: she would be Queen once more and her royal cape will be made out of the skin of the insolent who dared usurp her throne.

Taking a deep breath she opened her mind to the second hive ship's queen.

"Greetings Queen of the Purple Sky."

"Greetings I accept only from those I know of."

"I have seen many ages come. I am of the Forebears."

"I feel that. My mother's mother was the last of my kin to meet a fore barer. You are welcome."

"The Queen of the Mekrane bares my legacy. She asked for my assistance."

"I have no ill feelings toward her."

"Yet."

"Why would you tell me of this?"

"Your mother's mother would not ask."

"My gratitude is yours. I will speak to the Queen of the Dark Waters. I am sure you have her gratitude as well."

"Is your fleet able to sustain war?"

"It will only be a small battle. The lanteans have fled before."

"These are not lanteans. They know of your approach."

"Is there another reason to stop our advances? Are you afraid fore barer?"

"Fear is not the subject of this interlude. I know of other ways. I wish to share my insight. I am sure a victory is sweeter if it costs nothing."

"I will meet you. Where are you?"

"I will tell you where to meet me. There are small details to be taken care of."

She spoke to the third queen just before dawn. She was even younger then the Queen of the Mekrane. She felt confident. She only needed Rodney McKay to ensure the success of her plans. And he was an easy and willing target. She used the connection she had with his mind to make him come to her chambers and within minutes he was there. He looked tired, she noticed, exhausted even if the purple marring the skin under his eyes was anything to go by. She could see the weariness in his movements.

"Hi. Don't you ever sleep?"

"My kind finds rest in feeding."

He took a step forward at that removing his shirt. She smiled. The fear was still there, shimmering under the surface. He was uneasy. She trusted the power the link between them gave her over him, but even now, after so much time, his mind still fought her every step of the way. If ever this power was to falter even a little bit she would loose any leverage. He would break free at the first sign of her weakness. If she was to enlist his aid she would need more than this fragile connection that could break anytime. As much as she hated it, she had to bind him further. She needed to make sure he would be completely unable to resist. She had to achieve total control in order for her plans to work.

Her fingers traced the outline of his jaw. Rodney shivered and closed his eyes. He wanted her to continue her caress forever. The need to keep her safe that grew inside him since the surgery was slowly becoming laced with other needs. His primal ego mixed protection and possession into a very primitive need. He wanted to touch her, have her, and reassure himself that she was safe in his arms. And then there was an other part of him, one growing weaker at her being this close. That was the part that screamed he was not himself. That she had done something to him and he wasn't thinking clearly… that she _manipulated him. _Except that was a voice he could never bring himself to listen to for longer than five seconds. Her fingers ghosted over his lips, making his heart race and any thought of resistance fade from his mind.

"Many days ago, at the infirmary you wanted to do something. What do you call that?"

"Kiss?" Rodney barely managed a whisper. Eve nodded. "I wanted to kiss you. I'm sorry. I didn't… I mean back then I didn't realize that you didn't feel that way…I, I, just… Ah, I'm not good at this." He finished miserably moving a hand in the small space between them. But then she closed that distance, pushing up against him. His arms instinctively went around her.

"Try again." Eve whispered into his ear, her breath cool on his skin. Rodney swallowed hard shifting his pose a bit and angling his head to obey. And this time she didn't turn away. His lips brushed hers softly, tentatively and almost reverently. He sighed into her mouth as her lips opened for him. He tasted something incredibly sweet before realizing it was her tongue moving against his. It tasted sweeter than sugar, overwhelming his taste buds. Pain coursed through him, sweet like her kiss. He held on to her.

She knew what was happening. She knew he would experience pain equal to hers and still be unable to stop himself. She remembered how humans behaved when mating. She remembered how painful it had been for her to undergo those actions in the past as if it was just seconds ago. She could see the lanteans in her minds eye watching her. The human they forced on her then had a mind far simpler than the one embracing her now. The mind opening completely to her now was intricate, dark and subtle. The primal lair was still there, but in was enveloped in complex folds of emotion and reason. As the kiss between them deepened she drove herself further into his mind than any feeding short of killing would ever allow. She relayed on memory to move as a human female would to let him come on top of her. That was the way she had been forced to let the human take her in the past. As she let her legs fall open he settled between them. Thousands of years had not erased her first brutal introduction to human coupling. She closed her eyes to chase away the image of lantean scientist watching, instructing, and recording. It was pointless. They were in her mind. His lips tracing down her neck took her by surprise. It was new, just like his hands roaming over her body was. She focused on his mind. He found pleasure in trying to arouse her as well. And there it was again! The kindness she had always felt in his approach. It was gratitude and concern for her well being. She didn't have time to become distracted by his emotions before his touch became more demanding and urgent. His breath felt like fire on her naturally colder skin. He fumbled with his clothing briefly and then the pain of him pushing inside her made her breath hitch. He kissed her passionately pushing her right knee up with a hand to gain better access. She placed her hand on his chest over the wound that never got around to healing completely.

"Yesss!" He hissed as her feeding spikes broke his skin again. She could feel his heart beating frantically under her palm as he neared climax. She felt his pleasure as he crested, the rush of emotions quelling her hunger. She let go of his mind as he drew back and slumped boneless on the bed next to her.

"I think I'm beginning to like you feeding off of me more then I should." Rodney said, still a bit breathless. "Eve?" His tone was curious as he cocked his head to look at her.

"Yes?"

"I… I think I love you." He whispered moving his finger to caress her face. This was also new. She turned on her side ignoring the pain that still burned vivid in her lower abdomen to look into the blue eyes. She felt victorious. He took her lazy smile as a sign of satisfaction and kissed her.

"You have work to do. I will join you at the laboratory later."

He nodded before getting up and pulling his clothes into order. His crooked smile lingered as he bent over to her to kiss her lips again before leaving.

Rodney even managed a quick shower before heading to the lab he currently worked in. But when he settled at his work station he found he could not concentrate on the projects at hand. He thought he had ruined everything with the attempt at kissing her a little over five months ago. She rarely allowed physical contact between them when she didn't feed while his need for her only grew. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he had felt something wasn't right. Now that feeling was gone. Rodney only felt adoration at the thought of Eve now and he knew he would go to any length to ensure her safety.

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Miko Kusanagi blinked nervously from behind her large glasses. The code she just finished writing wasn't helping. She would hate having to report she was unable to extract the needed information from the damaged console hard drive. But she had been working on it in every spare second she had for the past tree weeks since she had been assigned to the project… she was close to admitting defeat. There was no way to get anything more coherent or consistent out of the reek. With a heartfelt sigh she started writing up her report on the matter. She wasn't all that surprised when, shortly after she sent her report she was summoned to attend a senior staff meeting. Senior staff meant Dr. Rodney McKay would be there; probably ready to gut her publicly for her inadequate skills because she couldn't salvage more of the data. She decided not to commit seppuku because of a berating from the Canadian scientist while she gathered her folders. It wasn't like she could actually do a better job and frankly she had serious doubts that anyone, including the previously mentioned astrophysicist, ever could.

She was surprised that he wasn't attending the meeting. In fact there were only two members of the senior staff waiting for her in Weir's office.

"Hello, Dr. Weir. Dr Beckett."

They both acknowledged her with curt nods.

"We need to talk to you about the data you were able to salvage from the computer core we retrieved from M24-786. I don't know if you are aware, but it is the planet we found Eve on. We believe that there are records of the experiments that the lanteans subjected her to."

"I don't read Ancient very well. I didn't understand what the data I could gathered spoke of, but I can assure you there is nothing more I can do. Except for the bits and pieces I was able to extract, the data stored there has been compromised by physical damage to its support system."

"Yes, you mentioned that in your report. I was wondering if there was any way to make sure the information we got is correct."

"You mean run a scan for alteration from the original sequencing?"

"If that's what you call it, yes. We consider this data extremely important and we need to know how reliable it is."

"I can do it. Provided I find a recognizable pattern of original sequencing, I can tell you if it's been altered and how many times. I'll start right away."

"Thank you."

As the petite Japanese scientist left, Carson moved to the chair on his side of Elizabeth's desk.

"What do you think?" Elizabeth asked in a tired voice while she took her own seat facing Beckett.

"From what I saw there and from the tests I ran myself she's a formidable being. And the experiments they ran could tell us how to defeat the Wraith. If there is no tempering with the files Dr Kusanagi decoded, we might be looking at the plans to make a biological weapon against the Wraith and Eve is the most important piece of the puzzle."

"This is all just way too familiar."

"I know. And I would love to be able to tell you that it will be different this time. But the Wraith is approaching Atlantis…"

"Right. On to a different matter. How's Dr McKay?"

"Physically he's just dandy. Eve feeds less and less off of him, we are trying to get her body used to regular food. It's a slow process, but with the enzymatic gland removed her organism is more responsive to alternative nourishment. So the strain I predicted would be dangerous for McKay is moot now."

"So there really are no ill effects?"

"Not from a medical point of view. I'll detect a higher level of blood pressure every now and then, but that is not unusual. Life in this galaxy is stressful."

"Did he ever speak to you about her?"

"Not directly, no. But I can see he's being very protective of her. I think he's grateful for how she saved him, and well, maybe even all of us during the Genii strike."

"I'll admit she surprised me too at the point. I never expected a predator to choose it's victims like that."

"She's not your regular predator. She's the result of a very complicated genetic experiment. Hopefully we'll know more about that soon."

"I guess what I'm asking is how do you think Rodney will take it if we can use Eve against the Wraith."

"Good question. We'll need to ask him that."

"I suppose we'll get a chance to do that this afternoon. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with Dr. Hanozeri to work on translating the text files Dr Kusanagi rescued."

"Sure. I need to look over my own notes before this afternoon's meeting."

Weir walked him to the door before returning to her desk. The ancient text was a huge challenge to her as there was such a big part of it missing; she doubted she could ever make sense out of it. She was well within the first paragraph when Dr Hanozeri joined her.

"I've been working on this ever since I got the e-mail from you. It's the most fascinating bit of text I've seen so far."

"It speaks of the project they involved our current prisoner in, I thought you might help, given you're a natural with the ancient language." Weir said looking over the translation Hanozeri handed her. "Why call it project Lilith?"

"It's what they called her. Lilitu or Lilith is an important figure in Hebrew mythology. The Ancients called this the Dark Moon project, see?" The anthropologist pointed to a section of the original text in front of Weir. "That was what the Hebrew called Lilith."

"I'll need some more explaining on that one. How come you think this has anything to do with…?"

"Before I was recruited for the Stargate project, I was involved in an extensive research on ancient Hebrew civilization. It was that which brought me to the attention of Dr Jackson. I was doing a study on how different religious and cultural idioms from the Babylonians were incorporated into Hebrew beliefs. These are the oldest civilizations to see the light of day on Earth. The city of Jericho is dated back to 9000 BC."

"About when the Ancients made it to Earth."

"That's right. Their legends are very likely to contain facts they learned from the Ancients. And the story of Lilith is, I think very befitting. See, Yahve created man, right, Adam and he made a wife for him. But the first wife was not Eve, as all Christians know today. It was Lilith. The legend says she was created the same way Adam was. But she was an unfit wife; she did not obey her husband and refused to bare his children. So Adam complained to God, he got a new and more obedient wife and Lilith was banished. She became a demon and consort to the fallen angel, Lucifer. Their offspring were the most vicious demons and she took her vengeance on human kind by feeding on all their new borne. These texts are mostly lab reports, right? They cover the experiments the Ancients ran on our Eve. One of those experiments involved having her mate with a human male. They soon realized that her anatomy only mimicked that of a human female and was not actually able to conceive."

"What could they have been trying to achieve by all this?"

"Stronger humans? I don't know. If this was all about researching ascension, I suppose they were trying to make a race strong enough to endure experimentation. We know they experimented on them selves later, but my guess is that first they tried to produce a race of lab rats similar enough to their physiology to run tests."

"It certainly looks that way from these texts. But so much of these are missing. So you think all these stories about demons are what were left from the Ancient warning the humans of Earth about the Wraith?"

"I believe so, yes."

"So what else can you tell me about Lilith? I mean what makes her more dangerous than any other wraith?"

"Well the legend says she was a seductress. Lilith had the means to seduce any human if she so desired. If we think of this in terms of a wraith being able to manipulate any human male, then…"

"I always wondered what she meant when she said she didn't support the war efforts of her kind because she believed in different methods. It must be easier to make the humans come willingly to their deaths then to hunt them down. It says here that after the Lilith project failed they freed her. And after that the number of Wraith started increasing until it became a problem for the human population of this galaxy. And a big portion of text is missing here, but I will assume they recaptured her at some point."

"Maybe we should ask her to fill in the blanks for us?"

"Yeah. Dr. Beckett said something about a biological weapon against the Wraith described in these texts. He has some graphic files about genetic modifications to Wraith DNA. He thinks it's about Eve's DNA."

"Unfortunately I found no actual description; it must be in the missing parts of text. There are some references, but I can't make out any coherent story."

"I'll e-mail your opinions and findings to Dr Beckett and maybe he can make sense of it all."

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Rodney tried to keep the silly smile of his face. Most of the time he succeeded too. But it was difficult to focus on the tasks at hand when he kept having visuals about his morning encounter with Eve. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of having sex, no scratch that, making love to a Wraith. It definitely held no comparison to any of his previous experiences. Still, it figured. He finally finds a woman who he can consider his intellectual equal, a woman who overlooks his verbal inadequacies with ease, a woman who unlike Sam Carter doesn't hate him for speaking his mind. And given his luck, the woman in question is of a very dangerous alien species who feed on humans, no less! He didn't dwell on the different species issue much though, the proverbial butterflies in his stomach didn't seem to care much about that either. He looked over her work with a smile. That woman could do math! Her reasoning was sometimes hard to follow, her idea of logic defied that of humans on most occasions, but he'd grown accustomed to it in a way. The new algorithm he was looking over promised to increase the efficiency in energy preservation ratios. He only needed to rewrite some subroutine protocols and viola! More power to the City of Atlantis! He'll have Zelenka work on that. He needed to see her, outside of the lab. He knew she should be back at her quarters by now. He hated the rule of confining her to those chambers unless she was accompanied by a human, but since it allowed her to stay out of a cage it was acceptable. And she had no complaints. So he handed the equations over to Zelenka's assistant and made his way to Eve's room.

"Hi. I missed you, so I thought I'd drop by." She blinked at him, a look of confusion on her face. "I suppose you're not familiar with the concept of missing someone?" He asked sheepishly as he suddenly found the floor very interesting to look at. She advanced on him in silence, grabbed the back of his head and brought their mouths together in one fluid motion. Rodney almost lost his balance and had to lean into her for support. He was panting a bit when they parted again, her green emerald eyes looking into his. "I…um, wow!" He managed eloquently. She smiled. Her smiles weren't as creepy as they used to be in the beginning. He found them endearing now.

"My kind approach. Yes? They bring war."

"How do you know that?"

"I know you are concerned. I wish to help."

"You want to fight on our side?"

"On your side. Rodney, you are my mate now. I am yours." She spoke softly and he felt his cheeks blush at the hot wave of arousal that coursed through him at hearing her words. "I must leave, Rodney. If I am to help you, I must be on the ship that approaches."

"Leave? No! I just found you… you can't leave! You can't leave me!"

And there it was! The genuine part of his emotions toward her, the part she didn't control jealousy, possession. But she now had the power to overcome his will completely. _You will let me leave. You must help me extricate the device you implanted in my side. You do not wish to kill me. Obey!_

"I must leave, to help you and your kind." was all she said aloud.

"The device…you can't leave Atlantis. It will explode and kill you. I can't…"

"Help me remove it, then."

"I can't. It'll hurt you. I can't hurt you like that again."

"It hurts me already. I only accepted it so I could be with you, free with you. Now you need to help me remove it so I can leave."

Rodney shook his head, even if he knew she was telling the truth. He knew the instant she said it that the implant caused her pain. But to forcefully open her flesh again that way was an unbearable thought.

"Let me get Carson to help."

"He will not, and you know it. As soon as you tell them I need to leave they will kill me. They are only waiting for an opportunity to end my life. They don't know me, not like you do."

"I love you. I want you with me."

"I'll take you away. You may come. I plan to board the flag ship and take control of the entire fleet which is advancing on your city. I will stop the attack, but I need to get there. There is one on the ship who remembers me, he will help. He will come and take me away and you can join me."

He felt better at that. If he could go too it meant he could keep her safe, even if he had to lose his life to do so. He needed to have her safe. He silently cursed himself for not anticipating that no one else on Atlantis trusted her like he did. Of course they would rather want her dead! Sheppard was gunning for her blood from the very begging. They didn't deserve her risking her life to save them! Ingrates, all of them! He only managed to find joy in being the one she trusted, the one whose help she asked for. He embraced her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. Her hands caressed over his back. Maybe after all this was done and over they could just disappear somewhere together. The Pegasus Galaxy had to be big enough for them not to be found. He could not care less about his fellowmen at that moment. All he could think about was to be with her like they were, pressed up against each other, with her sweet smell filling his nostrils forever.

"Free me of the device now. I need time to heal after that." He just nodded and backed away slightly. She reached into the folds of her gown and produced a small but oh so sharp looking knife. His hand trembled as he took the blade from hers. He didn't even question how she had gotten hold of it. Eve slowly moved to toward the unfurnished wall of her room and he followed in silence. She was pleased with the outcome of her manipulations. The fact that he wanted genuinely to go with her was an unexpected reward. She had been fully prepared to order him to do so. After all she needed him in order for her plan to regain her crown as Queen of the Mekrane to be successful. But for once his real attachment to her proved less of a hindrance. It was the only advantage it bared however for it was that very attachment that made his hand shake as he made the first incision to start remove the device that caused her so much discomfort. She leaned against the wall for support and kept her arm above her head to lend him access to perform the operation. Her other hand snaked under his shirt to latch on to his chest so she could absorb the raw energy of his racing emotions. He worked fast, letting her mind guide his hand, cutting into flesh, pulling muscle out of the way. And then there was bone. He stopped to stare at the hard shield surrounding his target. The wound was closing under his astonished gaze, her wet and sticky flesh moving over his still fingers, her blood dripping to the floor.

"Break the bone. Take the device out!" Her voice cut trough the haze enveloping his mind, her commanding tone made him move with a force he didn't think he was capable of. And he did what she told him to. Next thing he knew, he was staring at the device while she shifted their pose backing him up against the wall.

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"Dr Weir! We must contain Eve right away! Get Dr McKay away from her as soon as possible! Contain them both if you must, separately." Carson's panicked thickened voice came over the com.

"What?! Dr Beckett, what's wrong?"

"No time to explain! I have reason to believe Dr. McKay's been compromised. Eve cannot be trusted! Send a military team to confine her! Now!"

"Major Sheppard, this is Weir. Find and retain Eve ASAP! She is to be considered dangerous." Elizabeth spoke hurriedly as she started off to the infirmary.

"Understood." came Sheppard's answer.

"A team under Sheppard's command is on their way, Carson. Now explain!"

"I cannot believe I haven't caught this earlier! It was Dr. Hanozeri's notes that got me thinking'. It says there Eve was called the seductress. So I ran a test for human pheromones on the blood samples I collected from her. She has them in spades. I have reason to believe she is somehow influencing Rodney's behavior. Controlling him even. I… I'm sorry, Elizabeth, I should have done this sooner. I think that's how the ancients made the human male mate with her. I'm so sorry!"

"S'okay doc, we're on it." Managed Sheppard as he made his way down the hall toward Eve's quarters, gun ready, and the two marines he was working out with in the gym with right behind him. The handheld life sign detector indicated the wraith was at her designated quarters. It also showed him she was not alone. There was another life sign blinking at him and he bet he knew who that was. He ordered a security team to meet them there. They had placed her in a more insulated part of the city at his personal request. He felt it was safer to keep her as far from the human population of Atlantis as possible. He now allowed himself to feel proud for making his point on the issue despite McKay's grousing.

The soldier raced through the city, gut tight and fingers clenching on his gun in anticipation.

"There is wraith dart approaching the city! It will be above us within 15 minutes!" Zelenka announced in a terrified voice.

"My day just keeps getting better and better!" Sheppard muttered as he turned another corner.

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As soon as the offending piece of metal was extracted Eve' wound began to heal. The energy feeding off Rodney provided made the ordeal less exhausting on her. The gland Beckett had removed and replaced with the device started to grow back instantly. Soon she will be able to drain humans again. She lounged for that, every instinct she had told her to wait it out and then kill the human in front of her. His heart was beating fast, telling her he was full of life, full of the force she needed so much. She knew she couldn't wait. She could smell the lantean approaching. With a roar of dissatisfaction she tore her hand away from Rodney's chest, as reason won over instinct. She could also feel her rescuer approaching. This was her only chance to escape. And she needed him with her and very much alive.

"Rodney, we must hurry!" She spoke as she reached out to caress his cheek. "Take me to an opened space."

"South pier. It's only a few corridors away."

He was running as fast as he could, trying to keep up with Eve. His chest hurt, his breathing came in gasps and grunts with the exertion, yet he couldn't remember when he last felt this happy, this alive. He heard the soldiers filling into the hallway as he and Eve took the last turn to get to the opened terrace on the southern pier. He half expected them to try and stop them. He wanted to yell at them that it was alright, that they should let them go because it was the only way eve could help. But he couldn't have managed to speak out loud enough for them to hear with his lungs on fire as they were. The sound of bullets flying through the air startled him. _Protect Eve! No! No, don't harm her!_ was all he could think. He raced after her. The dart whined in the air above the city.

"McKay! Stop!" Sheppard yelled seeing the scientist was trying to interpose himself between the wraith and their bullets. She was hit, but she was strong and fast. She ran into the culling beam the second it deployed. It was then John realized McKay was about to follow her. He was headed for the beam himself. It wasn't only about getting her out of harm's way! The goddamn idiot wanted to _join her_. John aimed and fired. He never stopped running as he watched in slow motion the bullet he just released tear through McKay's upper thigh. The roar of his own blood filled his ears as he rushed toward the astrophysicist. It was a race against time, against all odds. With every passing micro second the beam inched closer to where McKay had stopped running and now stood on shaky legs, clutching at his wound, panting. John barely managed to push him out of harm's way, slamming into him bodily and toppling them both on the hard metal floor.

"Fire at the god damned dart! Bring it down!" He managed to order before Rodney regained his grip on reality and pushed him off, following him as they rolled over the floor. Rage washed over him.

"You idiot! You fucking moron! You shot me!" Rodney's hands grabbed painfully around Sheppard's throat. The soldier gasped, struggling for breath as the others fired inefficiently at the departing dart. McKay's fuller frame was pinning him to the floor and effectively forcing the breath out from his lungs.


	5. Chapter 5

Part five

He felt numb and yet in pain. Sleep was a rare commodity for him these days. Still he stubbornly kept his eyes opened. The horrors behind his lids, should he dare to close them, were far too vivid. He knew he was in the infirmary, wrists and ankles secured to the bed with leather bindings. For the first time since the wraith fled Atlantis he didn't feel restless. But sleep still would not grace him. He would have given anything, even half of his impressive IQ, for an hour of deep, deep sleep. Sleep would allow him to rest and forget. Forget about strangling Sheppard, driven by fury and despair; forget about wrestling the marines that finally pulled him off the air force major. Then the medical team arrived and Carson tried to sedate him, but the sedatives would not work. He figured there was too much wraith enzyme in his bloodstream for any drugs to bring him down. So they had taken him kicking and screaming to the infirmary, strapped him to a bed and tended to his wounds.

He had screamed himself hoarse within the first hours. His throat still felt raw and aching. They had moved him bed and all to the separate alcove where Eve had been set up long ago and left him alone to yell at the walls. A nurse would check on him every once in a while, change the IV bag, make sure he hadn't injured himself more. As he slowly started to regain control over himself he settled. Coming down from the enzyme was pure hell. And he couldn't sleep! He was drenched in his own sweat, the acid smell threatening to choke him. The skin on his back side itched. It was too much trouble to turn him over he supposed. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her. He could almost feel her soft hair on his skin and it made him sick. Most of all he saw her green eyes, cold and dead, looking into his as he came inside her. He hadn't realized it then, he was too far gone, but now… Now she was not in his mind making him feel right about it. His stomach churned painfully and goose bumps rose all over his body as he shivered. So he started fighting his eyelids. He lay there, on his back, staring into nothing., tears staining his pillow.

Carson was the first to come in and apologize for not catching on to Eve's game sooner. Rodney didn't respond. His mind reeled. He hated himself for becoming a mind slave to the wraith so easily. He also resented all the others in Atlantis for not seeing it. And it hurt. Nobody paid him enough attention to notice. He hadn't really changed his behavior, the only hint was his attitude toward Eve herself and nobody questioned that. Nobody missed him when he started spending all his spare time in the wraith's company. He didn't say a word to Elizabeth's apology either.

He felt tired; tired of looking at the ceiling, tired of hurting inside and out. When major Sheppard showed up to check on him and tell him all would be alright he cracked.

"You shot me." It came out as a hoarse whisper. He didn't mean it as an accusation and somehow Sheppard caught on.

"Yeah, I did. And you're welcome." The soldier said smiling. Rodney smiled back weakly. Then he bit his lip to keep from telling Sheppard he wished he'd aimed for his head instead of his thigh. "Hey you spoke! Hey, Doc! I think he's feeling better."

Then Carson and his nurses were all over him, examining, poking and prodding. They took off the restraints. He was helped up and made to stand on shaky legs that seemed to forget how to hold his body up.

"Rodney, lad, how are ye feeling?"

"Hungry, I guess. I miss the real food."

"We'll get you some, but you should take it easy. Let your body get used to it again."

Everybody seemed so glad he had recovered. They were happy to see him finally snap out of that motionless state he'd slipped in more and more every day since the first attack of hysteria had passed. Now they could stop worrying about him. After a few more days of observation and some sessions of physical therapy to help him get used to moving again he was declared good as new and sent back to his quarters. Beckett had only insisted he'd see Heightmeyer for a while.

The mind probing sessions with the psychiatrist felt like a complete waste of time to Rodney. She tried her damnedest to convince him it wasn't his fault he'd succumbed to an alien's mind games and manipulations. He was only human, he had no training in the area of psychological resistance. And the recurrent feelings he still had for Eve were just a mix of gratitude and anger. Everything would fade in time.

"Give it time, Rodney." Kate kept telling him. He wasn't fooled. It felt like he would never forget the green of her eyes or her sweet taste. He would never be free of the ache he felt every time he woke up in the middle of the night, breathless, sweating and with Eve on his mind. She would come to him in his dreams, languid and graceful in her motions. She would call his name in a soft voice, feed off him until nothing remained but an empty, dried out shell. Then he would wake up, a scream tangled in his throat. She had turned into a ghost that was constantly present at his side. And horror of horrors! He still loved her. He did. No matter how hard he tried to rationalize it, the feeling of longing wouldn't fade.

When Zelenka reported the hive ships had stopped advancing toward Atlantis he felt his heart drop. She'd stopped the attack just like she said she would. The Wraith fleet was still several hyperspace jumps away, they would have had time to readjust their attack according to the intelligence she provided, they didn't have to stop to do that. But soon it was obvious: they didn't just stop, they were retreating. Rodney found himself looking at the dots on the screen wondering which one was the ship that had her aboard. Then they were out of the long range sensors reach.

Soon after that Dr. Rodney McKay was cleared for off-world missions and retook his position on Sheppard's team. Everything was back to normal. Even Teyla had returned and was back on the team too.

And if he still dreamed of her sometimes, or half expected to find her standing behind him in the lab, smiling and ready to walk him through some intricate reasoning he couldn't quite grasp, well he wouldn't tell anyone about that. Everyone in Atlantis forgot about Eve. If was a closed case, an avoided crises. Everyday life was challenging in the Pegasus Galaxy and no one seemed to dwell on the past much; being too busy to ensure they had a future.

Rodney never forgot. None of it.

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He felt the cold seep into his bones as soon as he stepped foot on M3X-979. It was supposed to be one of those friendly boring first contact missions that only held his interest long enough to find out if there was anything remotely like coffee to trade for. The natives, like those on many worlds in the Pegasus, were a bunch of farmers living in fear of the Wraith. With one small difference: they were all dead. The village, not too far from the Gate, looked pristine in the early morning sun. Nothing would alert anyone at first sight about the massacre that no doubt took place soon after they ended the MALP transmission. Nothing was touched or disturbed inside or outside of the small houses. No sign of struggle anywhere. Just corpses.

It was eerie. Rodney felt like all the air was suddenly vacuumed off the planets surface.

"What the hell…?"

"Looks like they just laid down and died, Sir." Ford supplied looking around with wide eyes. They continued their careful inspection of the village in the hope that there were survivors. They found none.

"Can we go looking for the coffee now?" Rodney asked loosing patience as they made their way to the village square. Sheppard shot him a murderous glance at that. "It's not like they need it, Major. But we do."

"We're not scavengers, McKay. We check it out, go back to the Gate, report to Weir, wait for her orders. Besides, how do you know it wasn't that which killed them, huh?"

"Poisoned coffee? That's rich… Fine. Waste my precious time on investigating a creepy dead village, got it!"

He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong, beside the dead villagers that was. The second the first gun fire broke the silence, he knew what that feeling was. Wraith drones were coming at them from all over the place. They returned fire in a frenzy, running for the Gate. The wormhole was opened, there was nowhere to go to.

"McKay! Disengage the wormhole and dial the Alfa site for us!"

Rodney holstered his gun and took cover by the DHD. He fumbled with the panel to get access to the crystals within. As a familiar sensation flew over him he looked up. A pair of emerald green eyes locked with his.

Sheppard kept firing on the approaching drones, keeping an ear out to hear the Gate shut down. "McKay what's keeping you?" He asked, not looking at the scientist. Then came the sound of the wormhole disengaging behind him. "Cool, now dial us outta here, will ya?" There was no smart retort and Sheppard looked over his shoulder. There was no one there. "Shit! Teyla! Dial the Alfa site! Now!"

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McKay didn't have time to do or say anything. He felt panic take over, then a prick in his neck, and after that just silence and darkness.

He woke to the sound of dripping water. At least that what he thought it was. A constant noise, somewhere not very far away. His surroundings came into focus slowly as the numbness retreated. He was laid on a suspended kind of hammock made of wraith webbing. He thought he was like a fly in the spider's web, except this web was not sticky or wrapped around him. He chuckled humorlessly at that thought. _Yup, just a fly caught in a green-eyed spider's web._

"Welcome to my home, Dr. Rodney McKay." He heard the familiar voice greet him as he sat up. "Did you miss me?" He could taste the sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

"Can't say I have. How 'bout you?"

"I am glad to see you again." She said approaching. He hopped off the hammock to stand in front of her. "I have missed you." Then her hand found its way under his shirt to splay opened over his chest. Rodney fought to swallow the lump in his throat. The feeding spikes only caressed him softly without even attempting to break the skin. Her hand moved over the skin and muscles and she smiled. His heart was making an honest attempt at shooting right through his ribs. It was time for all his nightmares to come true. She was already whispering soft, kind words in his ear. Next she would kiss him. Then, for the final cue, she would drain the life from his body and the last thing he would ever see would be he satisfied smile. Only this was no dream and the fear was very real. Eve was very real. So he pulled himself together and grabbing her wrist he moved her hand away. She didn't resist.

"So, now what?" he asked while considering his chances at escape. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Now, you help me. We are at my home. I call this the Green Moon of the Mekrane. The soil on this moon is rich in a mineral that makes it look green. The lanteans called it dark moon. The planet this moon orbits usually gets between it an the two suns we call Mekrane. I suppose dark moon is befitting also."

"I really don't care how you call this place or why. And how did you get the notion I was going to help you in any way?" her simile only widened.

"I know you. You dislike pain so much. You will help."

"Are we talking torture here? Cause you're right. I really hate that."

Eve caressed his cheek lovingly, her long fingers following the curve of his face. She turned abruptly and moved away. "Follow me" she called over her shoulder. And so he did. The hallways she guided his through were tall and narrow. It would have been very difficult for two people to walk side by side. There was a warm yellow light coming from some pretty large protuberances on the walls. The wall its self looked alive. It was then Rodney realized the building was an organic growth. He was walking inside a living thing! He felt like turning green around the edges at that thought. He took a couple of steadying breaths. He tried to keep an eye out for any possibility of escape.

"Nice place you got here." There was no answer. They made it to a membrane door that parted at Eve's touch and let them through. On the other side the corridor continued, less and less narrow until it opened into a room with staircases on either side. At least they looked like staircases. She took on to climbing the one on their left and he followed. "No elevators, huh? I guess this helps keep you in shape." At the top of the stairs there was another membrane door. This time it opened into a small, enclosed space that looked much like the elevators Rodney just complained were lacking. As soon as the membrane closed after them they were enveloped in the white light of a transportation beam. If the only way to get from one level to another he was screwed. There was no way he could operate wraith technology. The level Eve took them to was arranged like a huge lab. She walked over to a computer console and called up something on the screen that looked like schematics.

"This is the Fortress. It is build underground." She said indicating a dotted line, _ground level_, Rodney thought. "What you see above ground are the transformers. Think of the Fortress as a plant. We are in its roots and above are only leafs. The surface is uninhabitable. The transformers collect the gases from the atmosphere and extract oxygen for us to breath down here. There are parts of this building that are not connected to the transformers. I suggest you don't wander off into those chambers unless you wish you suffocate to death."

"Aren't you going to kill me anyway? I mean I won't help you with whatever evil plan…"

"You will help. I'll show you." She taped a few keys and the wall opened to reveal a zero point energy module sitting on an actual platter! It seemed like this was the day Rodney's best dreams and worst nightmares came true all at once.

"How… wow! Where did that come from?"

"You found it for me. Aline didn't want to give it to me either. But I was more persistent than you were."

Rodney didn't want details. He always thought Eve was jealous about Aline and just hiding it well, but she kept telling him she did not care about what happened with him and some insignificant human. Nothing had happened with Aline, and now he wondered if it wasn't because of Eve and her influence on him that he couldn't bring himself to respond to Aline's flirting. It was moot now anyway. Aline was probably dead.

"So, what do you want me for?"

"I have regained my status as Queen of the Mekrane's clan. In order to keep this position I must provide nourishment."

"You think an entire clan can be satisfied with only me?" she smiled at his comment.

"No. You are not to be fed upon. You must help me install this module of energy so that the ring of lanteans can dial to another galaxy. We will take a ship to the planet, that's where the ring is. You will make the adjustments. I know the ring needs these energy modules to establish passage ways to worlds far outside of the Pegasus Galaxy. I wish to reach that far. I know you can do this."

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"Off world unscheduled activation! It's Major Sheppard's IDC."

"Lower the shield."

Elizabeth felt her heart skip a beat, the way it always did when a team returned sooner than they were supposed to. Her gut feeling had always been reliable, that was what made her a good negotiator. It also made her breath catch way too often since they came to Atlantis.

Teyla stepped through the event horizon, dragging a stun paralyzed John Sheppard. Behind her came lieutenant Ford, limping badly. The medical team rushed forward taking the Major and Lieutenant away on stretchers. Teyla waved Carson away.

"What happened? Where's Dr McKay?"

"We found all the villagers dead when we arrived. Then we were attacked by Wraith. I believe they took Dr. McKay. Major and Lieutenant were hit by stun blasts. Major Sheppard thinks it was Eve."

"Eve? Do you think they killed the villagers?"

"I do not know. Nobody in the village looked fed upon. It is very unusual for Wraith to kill so many without feeding."

"We'll speak again when our two soldiers get some feeling back into their bodies. Decide what to do then."

It didn't take long for Sheppard to regain power of speech and he insistently asked to talk to Weir. She came to his bedside trying to calm him down.

"No. I will not hwaith till I heel betther!" Sheppard ground out through clenched teeth, his jaw muscles not yet cooperating in full. "Hyou need to shend a team out there to get the cryshtal. The only way we can find McKay…"

"Major, Teyla reported that M3X-979 is swarming with drones and you barely got away. I'm not sending a team into that sort of situation. We are unable to mount an immediate rescue for Dr. McKay. If we can rescue him, you of all people should know I'll do anything in my power to make that happen. All we can do now is wait. We'll send a MALP through first thing tomorrow and if the coast is clear, we'll have a team down there retriveing gate addresses. You can go too, but only if you settle now."

"Fhine." Elizabeth nodded.

"When you can unclench your jaw all the way, I'll expect to hear why you think Eve's behind this. In detail. Now rest, Major."

He just closed his eyes in response. He knew she was right. That didn't mean he didn't want to barrel through the gate while still dragging a foot behind him and shoot anything that moved and looked greenish. It would still be up to ten hours until he would be able to drag a foot behind him, much longer before he regained full motility. That made him angry. He would have loved to disobey Weir's direct orders to wait till morning if only he could convince his muscles to behave and obey him. Soon a nurse came and injected something into the IV line they had set up for him. It must have been a sedative because sleep washed over him just before the tightness in his muscles could become painful.


	6. Chapter 6

Eve was angry. Rodney, no, the human prisoner, refused to cooperate. She couldn't harm him, she needed him. He was the only one able to bring her plan to completion and she knew that her status as Queen depended on it. If she disappointed the Great Allegiance she would not only lose her throne, but very possibly her life as well. She had the duty to provide new feeding grounds. She had used her privilege as fore barer to gain leadership. But she had to prove she deserved it, and the Wraith, as a species were not known for their keenness on second chances. This was her one and only one. She needed him to be fully functional; witch meant she could not inflict physical or mental damage on him. But she had to convince him somehow. Would his threshold for pain be low enough for her to break him without impairing him? And worst of all, there was not enough time. Not to bring him under her charms again.

He was waiting for her, knees hugged tightly to his chest. When she entered he looked up. His blue eyes shot daggers at her. She advanced on him, holding his gaze and letting a lazy smile grace her features. She didn't stop until she was well inside his personal space. When she raised a hand above his head, he swallowed, eyes affixed to her intimidating talons. She caressed his cheek with enough pressure to make him feel just how sharp her claws really were. Her hand stopped over his neck, her touch light but threatening.

' Have you considered helping me?'

'For the intelligent creature you claim to be, you sure are slow in some respects.'

'You will address me as Queen, from now on, human.' She hissed at him while tightening her fingers around his throat. 'And you will help me, in fact by the time I'll have finished with you, you'll beg me to let you help.'

'Why? Why are doing this? You know I'll die before letting your kind find Earth.'

'How many times are you prepared to die? Once? Twice? A hundred times? A thousand?' Eve punctuated her questions by letting her feeding spikes break his skin one at a time. She released the enzymatic fluid under the tender skin on the side of his neck then pulled her hand away. Rodney covered his bleeding wound with a gasp of pain. His pulse raced and he just wished he was dead already. The liquid spread through him slowly, painfully. He thought that it was replacing the blood in his veins, pushing it to the surface relentlessly.

'Eve! Please! Stop!'

'Queen! I am queen, and you will address me as such!'

'Queen…' Rodney managed between clenched teeth. Her palm covered the wound again and the pain ebbed to endurable levels. His knees gave out and he fell to the floor with a grunt.

'I will return later, after you have recovered and you will then show me the plans you made for the connection.'

With that she left, grateful he could not see how her hands shook. It was anger, it had to be. There couldn't be any other emotions concerning the human. It was just frustration that she couldn't kill him, not even truly harm him because she needed his help. The anger and betrayal she saw in his eyes meant nothing to her. Nothing!

He lay on the floor until there was no more pain. He was terrified. What if he couldn't take it anymore and just give in to her? He would be responsible for the destruction of Earth and probably the entire Milky Way Galaxy. His thoughts drifted to Jeanine once again. He could actually see her, pretty and happy. She would be at her home, surrounded by her children, or cuddling with her husband (what was his name?) on the porch, sipping hot wine, or coffee. And all hell would break loose. A hive ship would land, and in his despair induced vision, it would land in his sister's back yard. Chaos. Fear. Pain, like no other. And then all of them would be dead. Jeanine's blond hair would turn grey as a pale green, hungry hand would suck the life from her chest. Her children would be transformed into grotesque dolls. He would be responsible fro the end of Earth. He shook his head to rid himself of these visions. He couldn't allow this to happen. On the other hand, he knew he couldn't take the kind of pain that Eve would inflict. He had a taste of it and he was certain more was on the way. Maybe if he could stall her. Give her plans bit by bit and hope for rescue?

But her mind was sharp. Her intellect had been one of the major appeals for him. Even now, when he wasn't in an altered mental state he admired her. She was strong and smart and cunning in ways that he was certain humans could never achieve. And infinitely patient. If he gave her enough information, she might be able to figure things out on her own. No. Not an option. But the pain! He never would have imagined that human nerves could take pain at those levels of intensity without breaking. He now suspected there was a lot he didn't know about human resilience and he felt a faint regret for not listening to Carson more often. _How many times are you prepared to die? A hundred times? A thousand? _Rodney shuddered. How many times indeed. Not enough, he feared. He wished he was dead. Death was less scary then the prospect of loosing control. He would loose any dignity he had left at Eve's hands. He was certain of it.

McKay had fallen asleep. He never felt it happening, realizing it only hours later when he woke with a start trying to make out his surroundings. Eve was looming above him, wearing an unsettling smile.

'Have you slept well? Are you rested?'

'Whoa..? Why?'

'So that we may begin. You are helping me with the plan to connect the energy module you call ZedPM to the Ring.'

'Ergh, no I'm not.'

'Ah, you wish to challenge me? Very well. I hoped this could be avoided, but if you insist, I will harm you.'

'Why would you want to avoid harming me?'

'Inflicting pain and waiting for you to recover takes away precious time.' She said as she produced a knife looking much like a surgical blade. 'You seemed terribly affected when you witnessed one of these used on me. I wonder how you'll feel about it cutting into your own flesh?'

Rodney couldn't help a shiver. He looked onto her eye as she lowered the blade to his chest. Green and blue caught in a battle of wills, they kept staring into each other's eyes; into each other's souls. He could still feel a connection to her. She couldn't control his thoughts from the inside anymore, but she could hear them if he wasn't careful. As his blood was spilled he found he could read her mind too. It was strange and it seemed twisted and illogical to him. Yet he felt he could easily lose himself in the maze of her mind. He kept looking at her, throughout his ordeal. He looked into her eyes trying to convey his despair; hoping against all hope she would be moved.

The cuts she made were shallow enough not to cost him precious life-blood. It was painful, but not painful enough. He could take this. He could get used to the rhythm she used to deliver the cuts and use that to keep his mind off the blood spilling over her hands with every new one. But then she used the link. She opened her mind to him, pulling him in and poring into him every emotion she ever felt. All at once. He screamed, overwhelmed. Millennia of agony spent in a cage…hunger so frightening it took his breath away.

He felt the weight of her long life crushing him, his own screams filled his ears just like hers had, so long ago. Eve made her way carefully through her own memories, selecting the ones she thought he could endure without losing his mind. She didn't want to drive him insane. At first he tried to resist her intrusion, but then, as she started pushing harder, he simply yielded to her will, inviting her to fill him with her presence. His mind proved stronger than she would have imagined. Could she have judged him so poorly? She had underestimated his resources.

Despair filled her soul as she realized he would not be broken. After all her struggle and after surviving for so long, to lose everything was unthinkable. She had to have the connection and the Ring active by the next rise of the twin suns. She redrew enough to stop her memories from reaching him.

'You are obstinate. But you will find that I am more so.'

Her right hand covered his right ankle as her left went to his knee. She held his leg down and with a twist dislodged his ankle bones. Rodney screamed. She pulled the bones back into their proper sockets and twisted them out again. He struggled against restrains he hadn't even noticed before, as his breath came in agonizing short pants between clenched teeth.

'God! Stop! Jesus! Fuck!' She kept on toying with his abused ligaments, ignoring his screams and pants. He wished he would just pass out, hell even fainting sounded like heaven at this point. But she was careful not to cross that line, making it clear she wanted him alert and feeling every motion of her hand. His vision started to blur around the edges. His breathing was uneven enough so that the amount of oxygen to reach his brain was limited. Then she stopped.

Rodney lay on his back, eyes closed, expecting the agony to start over again any minute. His ankle throbbed and he was sure he would not be able to put weight on that foot ever again.

'Are you now willing to help me?'

He desperately wanted to say YES. Yes to anything, to any request, any command, just to make this stop. He wanted to fall to her feet and beg, just like she promised him he would. Instead he heard himself saying 'Not really' in a ragged voice. Then she screamed in frustration. And he woke up. He was not tide down and the pain in his leg was just a very vivid memory. Eve however was a very real presence, staring him down with a grim expression in her eyes. His mouth felt dry.

She wanted to hurt him, to break his bones for real this time, just for the pleasure of hearing them crack in her hands. She wanted to hear him scream her borrowed name and his mind to be opened and wrapped around her own. She wanted to feel his sweat on her skin, his blood on her palm, his mouth on hers. She wanted to have him like she had before, when his every breath was hers.

'Just kill me already.' He whispered when he found his voice again.

'After you've helped me, I'll do as you wish.' As she spoke the words she knew them for the lies they were. She would not kill him. Never. She moved her long slim fingers over his face loving the way his eyes rolled back in his head at her touch. 'I wish I could keep you. You are useful. Strong and intelligent.'

'Gee, thanks.'

'You wanted to stay with me, you wanted to come away.'

'Yeah, when I was drugged out of my mind. Now I know better.'

'Your kindness was true even then. Why?'

'This conversation is useless and boring. I won't help you no matter what you say or do, so just get it over with and kill me.' Rodney yelled, suddenly losing his temper. He bated her hand away and took a step back. It was too much. The pain that wasn't real, but that he could still taste sharp and putrid on his tongue; her soft voice and slow caress, the way she seamed to find it normal to have casual conversations between torture sessions… it was all just too much for Rodney. The smile that grew on her face at his outburst almost undid him.

'You want pleasure? Maybe I misjudged you. Maybe pain is not the answer. Should I give you pleasure like I have before?'

'What? NO!' Rodney backed up against the nearest wall, feeling it warm and alive against himself. She advanced on him still smiling. 'Please, don't do this…'

Rodney turned his face trying to avoid her lips. He felt them on the side of his neck, her tongue lapping at the wound she left there earlier. Her hands roamed over his shoulders and down his chest, under his shirt. She pushed his shirt upward until she exposed the faint scar tissue her feeding sessions had left between his pectorals. She covered it with her palm, pushing him tighter against the wall. His eyes closed and his head rolled back with a dull thump.

'Give in to me. I can feel you need this. I know your words were true when you said you loved me. You can be free like you were then. I can give that to you.'

'I don't want…Stop reading my mind.' Then he stopped speaking as her mouth covered his. Her feeding spikes shoved under his skin and he let it happen. His arms went around her, his hands catching in her long soft hair. He was tired of fighting it. Of fighting himself. He groaned as their kiss deepened and she moved languidly against him. He hated himself for needing the comfort her body provided. He felt weak and inadequate as he returned her caress. He could remember now that she had forced herself to let him fuck her that first and last time on Atlantis. He had first remembered it as he was coming down from the enzyme. He wondered if it was the case now; if she tried to use sex to lure him to her corner again. The fact that she would endure such pain and pretend it was pleasure had amazed him ever since his mind was free enough to realize what she had done. He could understand why she did it. Freedom would be worth anything. And he admired her strength, wondering if he could ever do something similar. Would she let him hurt her again just to convince him to help her? He needed to know. He started kissing her back.

'I do. I really do.' He whispered as if asking for forgiveness. 'Can you?'

'I am in your arms. This should be answer enough.'

'It's not.' Rodney pulled the fine straps of her dress off her shoulders. He looked into her eyes as he undressed her. It didn't take long the silk like materiel being the only obstacle between her skin and his hands. He held her at arm's length and took in the view. Her body was willowy and slim, yet strangely feminine. Her skin seemed made of alabaster in the dimming light. Her breasts were nicely rounded and her waist small curving out in luscious hips. He swallowed a lump in his throat when he took in her hairless pubis and long beautiful legs.

'Did I hurt you last time? Don't lie.' His voice came as a hoarse whisper.

'Yes.'

'Show me how to do it so that it doesn't hurt.' He surprised himself and her with that. But he really wanted to make the encounter a mutual pleasure. Since he was going to die at the hands of this beautiful creature that no doubt he loved; the least he could do was enjoy her company while she allowed him to. Her eyes narrowed and she studied him for a moment. 'Please.' He said when the silence proved unbearable.

Eve helped him out of his clothes, took him by the hand and led him to the web hammock. She knew she could not break his resolve any more. His organism had cured its self of her intrusion and became immune. It would have taken ages to subdue him again, and she had until next sunrise. Then they would both be killed. She would be executed for deceit and treason and he would be fed upon by the first hungry wraith. Then her kind would try and take over Atlantis once again and she doubted they would succeed. It seemed that humans outdid lanteans in terms of resolve. Maybe it was because they were more prone to desperate acts of self sacrifice; because they didn't know any better or because it was in their nature to seek death. The human in front of her was the embodiment of his kind's best and worst.

She guided him to rest on top of her as she had done the first time. Only now her thighs remained closed and she hooked her ankles together. She smoothened her hand over his bare back, feeling the sweat that gathered between his shoulder blades. Rodney held his weight balanced on extended arms and rested his head in the crook of her neck. He barely resisted the urge to penetrate her or at least just rub against her. Something, anything to alleviate the ache building in his nether regions.

'Rodney, look at me. I want to see your eyes change as you find your pleasure.'

He looked up and felt the icy green of her eyes piercing his very core. Their lips met and it was a slow and sensuous glide of tongue against tongue. He couldn't keep his hips still and started moving against her, building up the friction. She tilted her own hips and used a hand to guide his erection between her thighs. He broke the kiss at her touch and started to protest. He didn't want to reenact what happened in Atlantis. More than anything he wanted to hear her pant with pleasure.

'I will show you only if you let me.' She reassured with a smile. It was the first genuine smile of affection he ever saw on her face and wondered if it would be the last. He stopped fighting her ministrations and finally she closed her thighs around him tight enough to make stars explode behind his eyes.

'Oh, God… Eve, I … Please…' he groaned trying desperately to hold back his release.

Her hand covered his mouth and he instinctively licked the deadly slit in her palm. It was her turn to gasp. Her pupils dilated matching his and he smiled into her skin. He understood. He was a genius in two galaxies after all and for good reason.

'I do. ' she said as he started moving, tongue dipping into her slit and lapping around it. Her other hand found its way to his ass pulling him tighter against her. Friction was sweet and his sweat seemed to provide enough lubrication to prevent him from rubbing himself raw as her hips played a counterpoint his.

She moved her hand to the back of his neck suddenly and pulled him in for a kiss as her long legs came around his waist and she met his thrust openly. Her other hand pushed his ass, angling him and he was enveloped in slick heat. His eyes were huge with astonishment and realization. She arched her back pushing her breasts against him as she came holding him tight. He felt her feeding spikes break the skin on his back and her inner muscles clench around him and lost control.

She felt him shift their position to bring her on top as he regained command over his muscles. Her hair caressed his face soothingly as he breathed deeply. She remained in his arms until his breath became even with sleep. She left in silence. She knew what she had to do.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Many thanks to my very best friend Aila, who listened to me rant about Rodney and Eve over and over for days on end, and to Leah, who took the time to beta-read my story, edit it and post it. Ladies, you rock!

Silence reigned over the vast body of water that surrounded Atlantis. The sun was still under the horizon, painting the morning sky pink. The waves moved lazily, caressing the walls of the city. The breeze was salty and fresh and Elizabeth took a deep breath as she stepped out on the balcony. She had woken from a restless sleep in the small hours of the morning and found she couldn't go back to sleep. She got dressed and thought a walk might help clear her mind and put order to her thoughts before the early meeting she had with Sheppard and his team and the rest of the senior staff. She found herself in the South pier soon enough.

Eve had Rodney. Sheppard was convinced of it.

The very thought nauseated her. Was he still alive? Was he under her influence again? And if so, would he resist rescue? She couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. But she couldn't have foreseen what happened. She couldn't have…

She gritted her teeth in frustration for the hundredth time. Everett's arrival didn't help at all. She didn't need to deal with matters of authority right now on top of everything else.

She had always managed to come across as self confident, but now the skill that made her a great negotiator seemed to fail her. She was tired and weary.

She needed McKay back. She tried to convince herself that it was for the greater good, that it was for the sake of Atlantis, but here and now, out on the pier with the soft breeze in her hair, she had to admit she wanted him back just for herself. She needed the familiarity of her senior staff. She had been so grateful for not losing any of them. She didn't want anyone else to be CSO.

She needed a break, but the world waited for no one. One last deep breath and she left the quiet solitude of the balcony. She took a shortcut to the cafeteria to grab some of the Athosian version of black tea and then, mug in hand, she went straight to the conference room.

Everett was already there, along with his second in command, some Marine called Matthers.

"Good morning, Colonel. I hope your first hours in our city were pleasant." Elizabeth almost purred, knowing Everett wouldn't miss the challenge behind it. She settled in at the head of the table and placing her tea in front of her.

Everett just smiled and took the seat at the other end of the table. Matthers sat on his right.

Elizabeth was glad their incipient duel was interrupted by Sheppard, Beckett, Ford, Teyla and Zelenka's arrival. They all sat around the table. Sheppard stubbornly avoided looking at the empty chair in front of him. He looked like she felt: worn out. Rodney had been missing for a little over thirty-two hours.

Clearing her throat Elizabeth opened the meeting.

"Good morning, everyone," Elizabeth said. Let's not waste any time on formalities, Dr. Zelenka, were you able to retrieve any addresses?"

"I was," Radek affirmed. "We have forty-three gate addresses from DHD." Radek's English was worst when he was tired and his accent sounded stronger. "It's just addresses. We recognize some of them, not Wraith worlds. Some Genii worlds. Maybe they--"

"It was Eve," Sheppard said, interrupting the scientist. His tone of voice was tense, almost angry.

"Is there a way to refine this search? Forty-three addresses are too many to check out. We don't have the time or manpower to run a rescue operation of this magnitude. Especially not now," Everett said.

"The Wraith have stopped advancing on us," John snapped. "Dr. McKay's only been missing a little over thirty-two hours. We don't risk anything by trying--"

"Says who, Major?" Everett cut John off, emphasizing Sheppard's rank, as if to point to it's inferiority to his own. "I think we're risking a great deal, and for just one man. If the Wraith are truly retreating, and not just coordinating an attack, I say we don't give them reasons to change their minds!"

"With all due respect, sir, if they _do_ change their minds we'll need McKay here." John fought to keep the contempt and anger out of his voice.

"I've read the report on the situation," Everett said. "If the Wraith female has him and has gotten inside his head again, he's no good to us. If he is addicted to the enzyme again--and Doctor Beckett, please correct me if I'm wrong here--he has little to no chance of coming off of it for the second time alive."

Beckett looked grim and refused to respond to the challenge. Recovering from enzyme addiction was straining on the human body and he didn't want to think how hard and horrible it would be doing that twice in such a short period of time. He only hoped Rodney had been kidnapped by anyone but Eve.

"Well?" Everett prompted impatiently. "Why would we go through all that trouble saving someone who could die coming off the enzyme?" the colonel made his point, leaning back in his chair.

Elizabeth wanted to pound her fist against the table and scream _because I say so_ in Everett's ear. Instead, she squared her shoulders and spoke in a controlled tone. "We cannot afford not to." She hated what she had to say. She didn't want to say the words, as if she didn't, it wouldn't be true. But it was. She let out a breath and continued, ignoring Sheppard's hard gaze. "If indeed he has been abducted by Eve and she can once again influence him like she had before, he is a liability. His skills and knowledge are a danger in the hands of our enemies. He might be able to withstand torture at the hands of the Genii, although he has no training in that area so I don't…" She trailed off, wishing she could run to her room and bang her head against the first hard surface she encountered.

Everett turned to face her. The look in his eyes was unreadable.

"I see. Well, then I suggest you make haste in finding your wayward scientist. And when you do, either bring him back or make sure the enemy can't make use of his skills. I trust Major Sheppard is fully capable of doing just that."

He rose and left the conference room after that.

"Did you see Eve on that planet, Major?" Elizabeth turned to Sheppard, schooling her voice and features.

"No. But I know it was her. There were Wraith attacking us when he disappeared. How soon does my team have a go on the rescue mission?" the way he avoided looking her in the eye as he spoke sickened her.

"Where are you going? There is no clue in the addresses we retrieved from the DHD. We don't know where to look for him! This is just useless!" Carson broke his silence, helpless anger seeping through his accented speech.

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Rodney knew he was in deep shit when he woke up alone and shivering, naked and curled around himself in the web hammock. He went around the room to retrieve his clothing, but it seemed to have vanished. There was no food or water on the makeshift table in the corner where he was used to find nourishment before. He sat opposite to the door, leaning against the wall.

As terror rushed through him he fought to clear his head enough to think. There was no way out. He could not operate Wraith technology to let himself out of the Fortress, and even if he could he would simply suffocate on the desert surface of the moon. There had to be a way to get to the planet and the Stargate… Probably by dart. Lucky him! He had no idea how to fly a dart!

_I can figure it out. I'm a genius, remember? No, I can't who am I kidding? I'm so, so dead!_ He tried to get his breathing back under control. _Great way to go out! A true blaze of glory, hyperventilating to death is really heroic!_

Realization struck just as he was berating himself. Death. It was the only answer. It was _the_ way out.

"Okay, okay!" he spoke out loud, hands moving in tandem with his thoughts as always. "I need to die. Uh… No big deal… Right. How to die? How to die? How to die?"

He stood and started pacing. He had never pondered suicide before. There was nothing to hang himself from, nothing sharp or cutting to make himself bleed to death with--no gun, obviously. "Great! And she'll never do it for me. Not before I give her what she wants… Fuck! I'm so fucked!" Maybe if he had ever taken the time to study more hand to hand combat, he would be able to snap his own neck like those guys in bad karate flicks did. If it was at all possible for a person to snap their own neck, that is.

"Asphyxiation!" he almost shouted, triumphantly, and smacked himself on the forehead.

He rushed over to the entrance and, kneeling beside the membrane covering it, he started working on opening it. The damned thing felt like rubber, but if he had to give a wild guess he'd bet it was some weird hybrid of chewing gum and steel.

He was still unsuccessfully pulling and pushing at the slick membrane door when it suddenly opened. He had no time to register what was happening before he was picked up and thrown across the room. His head impacted with the floor as he didn't even try to break the fall. He was dizzy as he stood, trying to purposely anger and challenge who or whatever had come to pay him a visit. But then he froze. In front of him stood a figure at least seven feet tall. It wasn't Eve. Large fangs adorned the creature's mouth that was curled back in a sneer. Long white hair covered bony shoulders, and… and…

"Are those wings?" Rodney croaked out as he took in the appendages that rose from those shoulders like the wings of a pterodactyl. He only took a moment to stare in awe before he pulled himself together and launched an attack. "Come on, you fucking mutated bat! Kill me!" he screamed, hoping it would be swift and as painless as possible.

"My Queen wishes to see you, human," The bat thundered, and rendered Rodney motionless embarrassingly easily. It felt like the creature had more then two hands as well. A thin band of metal was fastened around Rodney's left wrist, and he was released. "This way." The giant motioned towards the doorway.

Gathering all his courage and feeling already high on adrenalin, McKay stood still, chin jutting at an impossible angle. "Make me!"

The creature just looked at him for a couple of seconds with it's golden-yellow eyes, before grabbing the back of Rodney's neck and lifting him as if he were a naughty cat.

Rodney kicked out helplessly and to no avail. Another hand closed around his right calf and pulled. Rodney whimpered as he felt every vertebrae in his spine pop. He was then carried away, unable to kick anymore, but screaming.

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The punching bag swayed violently as the soldier delivered blow after blow. He was not good at waiting. He was even less good at being helpless. With a roar he renewed his efforts and flung himself at the bag with even more momentum. Only when his legs gave out in sheer exhaustion did he stop. He staggered over to the wall and slid down against it, arms shaking, muscles spasming. Everett had made it an official order to take McKay out if extraction proved difficult.

Sheppard gathered himself off the floor and headed for the showers. He had a plan, but he needed to speak to Dr. Hanozeri first. He needed her help and he needed to think of a way to convince her to do everything unofficially. He wasn't going to shoot his friend, no matter who ordered it. Not if there was any other way around it. He knew Elizabeth was right, he knew they couldn't let the Wraith have Rodney McKay's mind working on their behalf, but to just go on a mission to take him out was unacceptable.

The water was hot on his skin and John braced himself, palms flat against the wall, and bowed his head under the spray. It was too hot and burned him everywhere it touched, like small needles piercing his skin and turning it red. The steam filled his nostrils and he felt dizzy fighting for a breath. His muscles melted under the assault of hot water and he sank to his knees with a thud. John leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the wall.

He wasn't crying.

As he jogged down the hallway to his quarters, his hair still dripping water from his shower, John prayed. For the first time in years, he prayed to a God he had stopped believing in when he was seven. Right now he needed to believe. He needed the comforting thought that a force greater than anything could be persuaded to work on his side if only he prayed hard enough.

After he changed his clothes he headed toward the Anthropology department, Sheppard felt better, and there was no sign of his earlier breakdown. He looked exactly the way a military commander should. Only the look in his eyes was darker than usual.

"Dr. Hanozeri, would you join me for a cup of coffee?" he asked in a casual voice as he found her perched over a desk covered in papers. She looked up, obviously startled, and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

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Rodney was taken through what seemed like a labyrinth of narrow corridors. Finally the creature carrying him stopped. He could see a pair of feet peering from under the heavy material of a gown. He knew who the feet belonged to even before he was unceremoniously dropped on the floor and looked up to confirm his thoughts.

The Wraith smiled at him in her unusual way, lips parting slightly.

He pulled himself together and stood in front of her.

"Eve," he greeted her halfheartedly, feeling self-conscious under her gaze. He instinctively covered his genitals with his hands. It was a silly pose, really, especially considering that she had seen and experienced the very parts he was hiding. His heart was thrumming in his chest as he cleared his throat to speak. "May I have some clothes? It's a bit chilly in here."

"I am not pleased," she said. "Kneel before me and address me properly!"

McKay swallowed around the lump in his throat and stood still. He wasn't keen on pain and torture, but maybe if he angered her enough she would feed him to her winged beast.

Taking in his defiance, Eve rose from her throne and strode down a few steps to stand in front of him.

"How am I going to present you at the gathering if you cannot obey the simplest orders?" She spoke in a deceivingly soft voice, one hand caressing his cheek. Her fingers wrapped around his neck in a gesture that was by now eerily familiar. Her other hand found the bracelet on his wrist and squeezed around it. The metal heated against his skin until it was unbearably hot in only a few seconds.

His eyes closed tight, Rodney let a sigh escape his dried lips. The heat spread then, as if traveling through his veins and filled him from head to toe. He was shivering when she let him go and he staggered a few steps backwards.

"Address me properly."

Rodney felt his knees bending and his lips spoke against his will.

"Hail to thee, Queen of the Mekrane. I kneel before you, my Queen." His head bowed until his chin touched his chest.

"Much better."

He looked up at the sound of her voice, his confusion all over his features.

"You don't understand?" she asked mockingly. "I knew I couldn't enter your thoughts and control them anymore, by any means. But I need your help and I don't have time to break your resolve. So I called for help. He is my First Mate, the One Who Bares the Light."

"How many mates do you have?" Rodney asked, still looking at the floor, as he regained control of his voice. He hoped that maybe the seven foot tall beast would maybe kill him in a fit of jealousy.

"As many as I need." She smiled as the beast came to stand by her. "Now, shall we go and meet my sisters?"

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Eve felt much closer to her old self as she walked into the Meeting hall with the human on one side and Lucifer on the other. With his help she might actually be able to control the human enough to obtain what she needed, what they all needed. After the new feeding grounds were secured she could fight the rest of her battles. She could keep her new-found emotions under control until then. They were just reminiscent traits the Lanteans had inscribed into her being, nothing more, and they would fade as quickly as they surfaced.

She had nearly forgotten about her First Mate. In her fight against hunger and insanity some of her memories had faded. But the human, Rodney, had brought the memories back. He truly had wanted to please her--he had _cared_. She had not felt anything but cold and clinical or forced and hurried touches in so long…

As she crept out of the holding area leaving her human lover asleep, she knew where to turn. Her First Mate, Lucifer, was the only creature she knew of to be stronger then herself. It was the only chance for her own survival.

So she had taken a fight vessel to the Ring and relied on memory to dial the address. She hoped he would still be there. He had to be. Once there, everything came back to her with renewed force. She could find her way through the underground passages blindfolded if she had to.

It was his world, and even after thousands of years she could still feel him there… She could smell him. She didn't allow herself to be distracted by memories as she carefully made her way deeper and deeper in the chain of caves.

He was asleep, with his knees drawn tight against his chest, wings closed over himself like a shield. The sight took her breath away. The sheet of dust covering his skin told her he had been asleep for a long time. Would he know her? Would he be able to remember his Lilith? Or had his mind succumbed to the loneliness and madness that threatened them all?

Lilith approached carefully and sank to her knees next to him. For a fraction of a second she thought maybe he was dead, nothing left but an empty shell to tell any visitors of the pain of feeding on oneself. But she could feel he was alive under all that dust.

She wiped the velvety surface of his wings, moving her hand carefully. Then she ventured to lift the wing away and it folded in on itself with ease. He was awake. He must have felt her ever since she set foot through the Ring.

His eyes opened slowly, lazily, and his lips drew back reveling fangs. She let her hand trail over his face and pushed his hair back. He moved slowly, bones cracking in their sockets, stiff muscles vibrating. She helped him sit up and he arched his shoulders and opened his wings, extending them to full span. They were as magnificent as she remembered.

He reached out, palm upward, not breaking eye contact, but when she lowered her hand over his and the slits in their palms touched, his eyes closed and he tilted his head.

"Lilitu…" his voice sounded like sandpaper and yet soothed her in ways she had forgotten. She laced their fingers together and his wings closed around her, wrapping her in cool darkness that smelled of dust and him. She opened her mind to him, eagerly showing him all she had been through, all she had learned or felt since they had been apart. He did the same and agreed to join her for the moment.

With him on her side she was truly undefeatable. She only hoped he would be on her side long enough.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Many thanks to my best friend Aila for all the support she's given me and for listening to the wildest far fetched ideas for this story. Also my gratitude lays with Leah who is the coolest beta ever!

He had not known what to expect out of meeting Eve's sisters, as she called them. He felt extremely self conscious when she made him walk into the hall at her side. The walls there gave more light then he'd ever seen them do. Tear-shaped cocoons hung from the ceiling. As he took a better look he saw they were actually used as seats by eight wraith queens. His heart skipped a beat as he took in their blue tinged skin, long claw-like fingers and slightly glowing eyes. If the bracelet on his wrist wasn't hotwired to his nervous system making him walk, he was sure he would have been frozen still before his second step into the room.

"Greetings, Queens of the Great Allegiance." Rodney was stunned to realize that she spoke in wraith and that he could understand what she said. The bracelet felt hot again. One of the Queens made a swirling gesture with her hand before rising to her feet. She was tall and boney and her arms seemed too long. She wore teal colored trousers made of a very light materiel and a silver embroiled tunic. Her hair was black and thick falling down to her knees like a curtain. Her cheekbones looked very prominent giving her the look of somebody who has been starved. Rodney wandered briefly if that was true. Her blood-red eyes settled on him only for a few seconds and then moved to look at the winged creature at Eve's other side.

"You are full of surprises, Queen of the Mekrane. Is he your First Mate, the One Who Brings the Light?"

"I am." spoke the creature taking a step forward.

"I am pleased to meet my Forbearer. I am Ereskigal." the creature's lips contorted and curled back in what Rodney decided must have been it's version of a smile. And then the black haired wraith took another few steps closer and touched his chest, and Rodney held his breath. He felt the slit in her hand opening and closing over his skin before the spikes pierced it. He thought he would jump out of his skin at the sudden pain. Instead he clenched his jaw and looked straight into those red eyes. She was so close he could see her irises were enclosed in dark brown circles. He felt blood trickle down his abdomen as she took her hand away. He followed the red gaze until it rested on Eve. She looked pleased. As Ereskigal retook her seat the queen sitting to her right stood and came to Rodney. He felt the bottom of his stomach falling out. He wanted to speak, scream, run… but he was paralyzed, the bracelet made his every muscle turn to heavy stone and he felt captive in his own body. The only things giving away his state of mind to the outside viewer was his fast breathing and the dilatation of his pupils. The second queen reached out and placed her hand over the wound Ereskigal had left. Her spikes bore into the exact same places and Rodney braced himself against the new wave of pain. He wished he could at least close his eyes so as not see them. When the third queen, the one on Ereskigal's left this time, approached it became clear to him that they were all going to taste him. He felt sick.

"I am Kali." She spoke as her hand rose to his chest. _What the fuck makes you think I care_; he wanted to shout but his lips were sealed. By the time the last queen raised her palm from his chest he felt like a used rag doll. His skin tingled with pain and itched with dried blood. He was sure he was shaking and wondered what he would look like… how old would he look? The bracelet turned cold and he sunk to the floor with a loud thud. He just sat there, breathing. When he looked up again he saw that Eve and her mate had found seats and took them.

"Do I have your trust?" Eve's voice broke the silence.

"I sensed the strength you spoke about. He is very valuable, -if- he can open the Ring toward new grounds." Said the queen Ereskigal affixing her bloody stare on to him again.

"He will. The Ring will be opened before the Twin Stars show themselves again."

"Then we stand behind you, Lilith."

Every queen came to rest at Lilith's feet and each cutting a strand of their hair and braided it with her magenta curls.

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"Enticing as the promise of coffee is, I don't have time to go with you, major." The anthropologist smiled briefly and went back to her parchments and books.

"Ahem… I need your help." Sheppard admitted with a sheepish grin nervously rubbing the back of his head and she looked up again. "I have to find McKay. I have to get him back." She looked unfazed as if he had just stated the sky was blue. "Do you think you could maybe find a way to point me in the right direction? I'm looking for Eve's home planet."

"It is rather amusing you would call her Eve since she is the one who inspired the character of Lilith, Eve's rival and… Eve is actually a word and it means i life /i ."

"Fine, I'll call her Lily, is that ok?" the major asked straining to control his temper.

"To answer your question, I can pinpoint an area where the solar system you're looking for can be found… but… I'm coming with you. And if we succeed I get appointed to an off-world team." Sheppard rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He spat after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Give me a couple of hours." She said turning away to rummage in a box behind her. "Ah, and major? Tell Dr. Zelenka to join me here, I could use a hand getting through his security protocols."

Sheppard felt completely useless once he got the Czech scientist on board. Dr. Hanozeri was translating what sounded like shitty ancient poetry and Zelenka was actually taking notes. Rodney would have never let himself be sucked into such mumbo-jumbo. But Rodney was not there. They seemed to know what they were looking for and what they were doing, so John sat on his hands and fought the urge to tap a foot. Hours passed by before he left for the gym unable to wait anymore.

"I'm gonna go punch something. If you guys find something remotely useful, let me know ASAP." He said to the pair who only muttered something under their breath and didn't even look up at him. He broke into a run halfway to the gym and found he couldn't stop. He turned a corner and kept running.

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Rodney kept fighting his own legs as they took him up to a platform and into an oversized dart. He hated his body being manipulated by something else than his own will. The chilly night air raised goose bumps all over his skin and made him shiver. The flight to the planet was short and uneventful and Rodney was sure he had dozed off with pure exhaustion. The queen who called herself Kali woke him as the ship they were in was landing. Eve had not addressed him directly since he's been introduced to the other queens. He didn't know whether to be glad or frightened. He had no idea how many times she could pass him around the table, so to speak, like a glass of communion wine before he crumpled up and died. Will she do it again? He hated not being able to move of his own accord and just provoke one of the monsters present into killing him.

He was led up to the Stargate, where the DHD was already opened and the ZPM placed next to it with additional crystals laying around it. When he looked around his breath caught heavily in his chest. Thousands and thousands of darts were on the ground or hovering in the dark air…Wraith as far as his eyes could see. Then hysterical laughter overtook him and even if his body would not let his laugh escape his lips, on the inside he was bubbling with it.. What else could he do? There he was, in his Adam's suit, no pun intended, alone and surrounded by countless Wraith, unable to run or defend himself in anyway and none of them would come over and put him out of his misery. He began shaking with the strain of his muscles fighting impalpable restraints.

"Tell me how to open the Ring to new feeding grounds!" said the winged male wraith making him move closer to the DHD. Rodney looked at him in silence. "Speak!" and the bracelet grew hotter and hotter until he could not bear it any longer. The first sound that escaped his throat was a scream. His legs gave out as soon as the bracelet cooled and he went down like a sack of potatoes, his breathing harsh.

"Fuck you!" it was nothing more than a whisper, but he was determined not to give any other answer no matter what the question would be. The beast was barefoot and he could see powerful talons curling from his long toes. His feet looked more like those of a bird then those of a human, Rodney thought. He was again grabbed by the back of his neck and hoisted to his feet only to be pushed closer to the pile of crystals.

"You may have a powerful mind, human, but you are no match for me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the villain speech by heart already, so don't waist your breath on my account." Rodney managed to say louder dismissing the creature with a flap of his hand.

"She asked me to not hurt you, but you leave me no choice."

"Been there, done that. Torture doesn't work on me." He said bravely finally managing to stand and lock his knees together. There was a smirk on the creature's face when he looked up. A large clawed hand closed over his and the sickening sound of his bones being crushed filled his ears mixed with his screams. Lucifer only blinked at him and twisted his arm breaking bones. His struggling only made matters worse. When he was released his arm hung limply at his side and the throbbing pain made his eyes water. For the thousandth time he wished he was dead. He turned around and started running in a random direction hoping a hungry wraith would stop him. Instead it was the bracelet engaging that froze him in his tracks and he just fell over, his nose hitting the ground hard. He could taste his own blood now and he was certain there were teeth missing. He shuddered. Lucifer picked him up and seated him with his back against the DHD.

"You wish to protect those of your kind. That is why you resist us so." Rodney narrowed his eyes. Understanding didn't dawn on him until six people were marched in front of him. Their hands and legs were bound with some sort of rope. They were also naked and already supported multiple bruises.

"Rodney! Please give them what they want! Rodney please! Don't let them feed on us!" screeched a woman his eyes recognized to be Elizabeth Weir.

"Yeah, buddy. Just let's get out of this mess alive and we'll figure something out later, ok? You know we can find a way…" a very battered looking John Sheppard chimed in.

_No! No, no, no, no! This… this…_ he was distracted by the pain that still seared through his broken arm. He couldn't think. But it was impossible, wasn't it? Even if they had mounted some rescue mission and failed…got captured…could they have?

"Will you tell me how to connect the power source to the Ring or do you want to see your friends die?"

"Oh, God, no! Please!" He'd found his voice and the words came poring out. He watched in horror as Lucifer moved around the group of people. There was John and Elizabeth, Ford and Teyla, Carson and some marine he'd recognized but whose name he couldn't remember. He was going to watch him die, a man that was captured attempting to save him and he didn't even know his name.

"You want him to die first?" the clawed hand closed over the marine's throat but did not squeeze. In stead it traveled higher to grad his jaw. Lucifer placed his other hand on the top of the man's head and while holding his jaw still he yanked his head back. The result was the sound of bone snapping covered by an agonizing scream. Blood trailed down the sides of the man's face, his jaw now hanging limp. The sounds escaping him were wet and gurgley like he was drowning. His eyes snapped shut as he realized the man in front of him was drowning… in his own blood. Rodney was horror struck. He had wanted the beast to kill the nameless marine first. Not that he wanted anyone being killed, but if people's deaths were inevitable, he unconsciously had wished for more time for his friends. He was disgusted with himself. He had wanted a man to die only to buy a few more seconds for his friends… they were all going to be corpses by the end of the night. It didn't matter who died first. Unless… _unless I show Batty McBat over here how to get to the Milky Way… yeah, right and then they can all have a snack before leaving! You really think you would get out of here alive? No._ he answered his own question. It didn't matter if they survived or not, the only thing that mattered was keeping the Wraith in Pegasus. But Sheppard had said… did he have a plan? And if so was he actually cocky enough to think they could somehow dig themselves out of this situation? And Elizabeth had begged… she was now whimpering as the monster approached her.

"Oh God, Rodney, please, please, don't let him do this!" she was sobbing between words and when his fingers tangled in her hair she screamed in horror. Rodney found he could not look away he couldn't turn his head or close his eyes anymore. "Nh-nh-no…plh-plh-lease…uh…uh…" his fists came down hard and she screamed. She went down with the first hit and he continued hitting and kicking her until she was silent and by that time he was swallowing bitter bile and blood.

"Tell us. You shouldn't watch your friends maimed and killed like this! Tell us and you will all have privileged places with us. We know how to be grateful."

"You sick fuck! You…you…you… you sick fuck!" Rodney screamed at the top of his lungs as he regained control of his vocal cords once more. "I'll never…never help you! Do you think I'd let you do that to others too? You fuck!"

"You want your… sister to be safe?"

"How…? What are you doing? How do you know about Jennie?" his voice was panic thickened, his eyes flicking between the bloodied dead bodies lying on the ground.

"Is he your friend?" The wraith asked grabbing Sheppard's chin and tilting it upward. His yellow eyes gleamed and Rodney bit his tongue. This was going to happen anyway…there was nothing he could do. Nothing. The pain he felt told him more then one teeth were broken.

"Rodney, buddy, listen to me! You can stop this, just give them… show them what to do!"

Something shifted in Rodney's gut at the sound of the soldier's broken voice. It couldn't be! _It's not real! This is a fucking trick! Sheppard would never…he would never… _"This is a hallucination! Ha! You fucking half starved idiot of a nature's freak!... Oh, oh… I can't believe I fell for it!" he was laughing again, this time out loud and hard enough to choke on it. He doubled over covering his face. When he looked up again his teammates were gone. Instead he saw four naked people with dark skin, trembling in their places. There was no Elizabeth and no nameless marine… just the corpses of two strangers. His laughter turned to sobs and he just couldn't draw breath in between. His stomach did a somersault and he was throwing up, bile and blood and broken bits of his front teeth. His vision was blurred, he didn't even feel himself stand and walk over to where the tall creature was standing. His good arm rose above his head and only when his fist made contact with living flesh did he come to his senses. He was hitting someone mercilessly… it was…it was… _Jennie!_ Couldn't be! Teyla had been standing there minutes ago and he knew it wasn't even her but some poor nobody he never met before. But he was hitting her, unable to stop his muscles from clenching and she looked like his sister. It was Jennie's nose that was bleeding profusely, her cheekbone cracking open under his assault. An all the while the bracelet stung his wrist.

He followed her down minutely, kneeling on her chest, forcing the breath out of her lungs and all the while screaming in his own head, deaf and sick with the sound of his own cries. _I'm not…I'm not…This isn't happening…I'm…ohgodohgodohgod I'm killing her!_

The bracelet did not cool of until all four left were dead. His blood mixed with theirs painted his skin scarlet. When he could finally stop, he sank to the ground shaking and crying exhausted and in pain. He had tortured four people to death and their screams of agony still clung to his eardrums…he could smell their pain…blood… and shit… and piss…

"Tell me how to make the Ring open!"

The thunderous voice filled his head. It was the only real thing that remained binding him to the world. _The Ring… the Ring… the Stargate… yeah, I can do that… I still can…_ "Willhyu … may sistop… stop!" He couldn't speak. He dragged himself up on his good arm and stumbled over to the opened DHD. He smeared blood all over the crystals and the inner circuits. Eve was at his side taking the crystals he picked up and placing them onto the slots his trembling index pointed to.

As the last piece was secured into its place he looked into her eyes. They were green as shards of emerald and glowing with glee.

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Radek's fingers were still flying over the keyboard when Sheppard came back from his work-out. When he heard Dr. Hanozeri's voice over his com he'd rushed right back to the Anthropology department. His soaked t-shirt clung to his skin and his hair damp with sweat was for once almost tamed.

"How soon are we leaving?" he asked between breaths.

"We were able to reconstitute a address for the planet Eve took him to considering its position in the solar system and the galaxy and the logarithm the ancients used to catalogue their Stargates… but we are only guessing. We have five most likely addresses that we can try."

"And is those are not what we are looking for?" Sheppard said over the rapidly forming knot in his throat even if he did not want to hear it. Zelenka looked to the floor intently and Hanozeri just shook her head. "The tree of us, Ford and Teyla are leaving when the last guard shift ends. There is a window of 24 minutes when the Gate Room is empty. We'll need to use those. And yes, I will revise security protocols and guard shift time." The soldier added in response to the look of Zelenka's face. "Meet you then."

"Well we have good half hour before that happens. How about we get some food? It is dreadful to die on empty stomach."

"You are an optimist, aren't you?" Hanozeri said curling her arm around the one Radek offered.

They eat in nervous silence in the empty mess hall. Teyla came to alert them that the window they were looking had arrived. Hearts thumping they joined the two soldiers in the Gate Room. Radek dialed the Gate trying hard to keep his hands from shaking. If this half-witted plan succeeded he would take his first trip off-world; and to a Wraith-inhabited planet no less. Yet strangely enough what made his hands shake was the thought of not being able to try and get McKay back.

The wormhole engaged on the fourth try with a woosh of blue. No one said a word as they went through.

Freezing cold air greeted them on the other side. The planet was dark and there was no source of light other then the energy from the wormhole. They carefully made their way down the few steps that led to the gate pointing the P-90's that Sheppard snuck out of the armory at the dark. The Stargate disengaged a few seconds later leaving them to fend for themselves against the alien night. The torches did not help much.

"They weren't kidding when they called it dark moon, huh?" Ford tried for a joke and failed.

"This is planet, not moon. There is no atmosphere on the moons of this planet."

"Major, I've found something!" Teyla sounded alarmed. And they all went to see what she was standing by.

"Is that…?"

"ZPM!" Zelenka interrupted Sheppard in mid question.

"What does that mean?" Ford asked nervously.

"It is drained of power. They used it to dail…"

"Earth. Fuck!" it was Sheppard's turn to interrupt. He kicked the now useless shell of the energy module disengaging it from the DHD.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Many thanks to my very best friend Aila, who listened to me rant about Rodney and Eve over and over for days on end, and to Leah, who took the time to beta-read my story, edit it and post it. Ladies, you rock! 

As he placed the last crystal in the DHD and connected the ZPM, Rodney shivered. The gate lit up in shades of blue and he felt Eve insinuating herself in between his thoughts. She was looking for an address. As soon as he thought of the gate in Cheyenne Mountain the shield popped in his mind before he even had a chance to try and conceal the knowledge. He felt new tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

He only felt revulsion now.

She moved through his thoughts with grace and ease picking addresses from the list stored in his memory. Fortunately there was not much information about the planets in the Milky Way for her to extract.

His head felt like a throbbing boulder of granite and his vision blurred as he felt her retreat. It was like her consciousness had kept his in function and now as she left him, Rodney felt his life slip away. It felt like water swirling through the drain of a gigantic tub. Fear washed over him in blood-hot waves as he realized, in a split-second that he was dying.

Suddenly the pain in his body felt like a welcome sign of being alive. He wanted the pain and clung to it with his every breath. He was lightheaded with blood loss and concentrating was harder and harder.

_I'm dying!... OhGodohGodohGod…. I don't want to…. Please, please don't let me die! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease…._

It felt like the limbo state held him a second past forever, a litany of 'please don't let me die' running through his mind over and over. He didn't even realize the pain had stopped at some point until he felt it again. His lungs felt like they were being torn apart from the inside. He didn't feel his lids opening, but the first thing he registered was a pair of yellowish eyes, peering into his.

"My Queen will be pleased." Came the booming voice, making him wince as sound invaded his ears. He tried to speak, but his lips would not cooperate. When he tried to clear his throat it became clear why… he was completely dehydrated. The dry skin pulled and cracked and as he moved his tongue over his lips he tasted his own blood. He succeeded in gathering some saliva to swallow before he attempted speech again. His head swam.

"Water… please…" it came out hoarse and broken. But he didn't have to beg, liquid spilled over his lips before he had time to draw a new breath. He knew it wasn't water as soon as he tasted it. He didn't care.

Rodney felt himself drifting to sleep this time.

Lilith stood by her First Mate as the Ring of Lanteans opened in its usual bright blue ripples. The human lying bloodied at her feet amazed her over and over again. Just hours ago he'd wished for death so fervently… she would keep her word and grant his wish. But as she retreated from his mind to let it crash in on itself, he reached for her. He wanted life. He wanted the gift.

"Ereshkigal, this one is chosen. He may still prove valuable." She spoke in a neutral tone of voice as the dark hared queen moved closer and picked Rodney's body up and carried him away.

She didn't look after them. Instead she stood still beside the Ring as her fleet broke the event horizon, glider by glider. Each one returned with full cargo. Humans… so many… they were rematerialized and placed in cocoons in the five hives orbiting the planet. Reports were good. The planet they had accessed was populated by a non advanced race, they were easily overcome. It would do as first base in the conquest of the new feeding grounds. And there were so many other worlds there; worlds full of life and possibilities. She could feel the excitement in every single wraith gathered there. They would no longer suffer starvation.

She knew that one of the worlds was Rodney's home. That one, she was willing to bet, would put up a fight. She planed to attack the planet he called Earth first and subdue its inhabitants swiftly. Letting out a long breath Lilith reminded herself she had to be patient. The hives could not travel through the Ring and it would take some time before she could coordinate an attack. But now they had nourishment for the long journey to the new galaxy and patience was her strongest attribute. She stepped through the gateway with Lucifer and her Allegiance Council briefly to give out the orders and instructions for those who would wait there for the arrival of the Hive Fleet.

Blood. Salty and warm and sticky… everywhere. The coppery smell filled every breath and the metallic pang of it lingered on the tip of his tongue. Rodney had been properly baptized in blood.

He hadn't seen Eve… Lilith… the Queen yet. But Rodney knew she was somewhere near by. Ever since he woke up he realized he could feel her presence. It lingered like the cold touch of death enveloping him from all sides. She never showed herself. It was always Lucifer, or Batty as Rodney liked to call him, who came to see him, bring him food and drink.

It had been Lucifer from the very beginning. As the haze retracted from his memories, Rodney remembered the huge alien standing beside him, holding him up with a sneer of contempt all over its ugly features. And yet it thought him to walk and eat and talk all over again. Well, helped him remember, anyway.

Elizabeth was sure she would eventually wear a hole in her office floor with all the pacing. Her shoulders ached with tension and she'd somehow managed to chew off all the cuticles from around her finger nails leaving her finger tips painfully raw. In a couple of places she even broke the skin drawing blood. Every minute that passed grated on her nerves.

When the door to her office finally opened she all but jumped out of her skin.

"Finally! Where were…? Major? Why are you escorted by armed marines?" she looked at him with huge eyes, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I can fill you in on that." She closed her eyes as she turned to face Everett and crossed her arms over her chest. "Major Sheppard just returned from an unauthorized rescue mission. I've immediately placed him under arrest."

"And why, pray tell is he in my office then? Or is this the new brig and nobody told me about it?" Weir was loosing her patience and the arrogant Colonel and his ways did not help one bit. The bastard had the nerve to look sheepish at her outburst.

"He insists he'll only tell you about where he went accompanied by two civilians and a junior officer I might add."

"Ah!... Well?!" she gestured to Sheppard.

"The Wraith are in the Milky Way. We went to the planet Eve's from and we found a depleted Z.P.M. attached to the Gate. She has Rodney and she somehow got him to jury rig the DHD and…"

"Non-sense! Do you have any proof of this? Did you actually see Dr. McKay on that planet?" Everett interrupted loudly.

"With all do respect, sir," John drawled in a tone of voice that contradicted the words, "it is the only reason the Wraith would have a Z.P.M. We know Eve worked with Rodney on building one while she was here."

"Even so, Earth has a shield…"

"What if they didn't dial Earth? They're smart creatures, Colonel. We need a defense plan and to warn Earth ASAP."

"If we leave on the Dedalus right now, we have a chance!" Elizabeth spoke as she moved across the office to the microphone and turned it on to city-wide range. "Attention please, this is Dr. Weir."

"What do you think you're doing?" interjected Everett only to be ignored.

"All personnel report to the Conference Aula on level one in the Main Tower in 30 minutes. Thank you." She turned the microphone off and faced the stunned soldiers. " This is a public matter and we need volunteers for the journey." Elizabeth answered the unasked questions in their eyes with a shrug. The calm and composed leader had returned, she looked determined.

"What journey, Doctor? This is a military situation and I'm the ranking military officer here!" Everett sounded outraged.

"Then act like it! The Wraith are in the Milky Way Galaxy right as we speak. The only thing we can do is try our best to warn the people back home!" she felt very out of place facing Everett. She'd gotten used to rows with Sheppard over matters of authority and they got to a point where they could work together to everybody's advantage. However, a new military leader meant new dynamics and to make matters worst, everything about the Colonel rubbed her the wrong way. But he just smiled at her like an old fox would and pulled himself up to his hull height before speaking again.

"Don't you think they will find out anyway? And that they will find out before we can reach them with the Dedalus? The ship is due in two days and if we leave straight away it will still take a little over two weeks to reach Earth again. What if this is a ploy of the Wraith to get us to leave Atlantis defenseless?" he had the expression of someone speaking to a particularly stubborn teenager.

"They only wanted Atlantis to reach Earth in the first place. But you are right, we will be too late _if_ they choose to attack Earth immediately… sir." John interjected just as Elizabeth opened her mouth to retort. "They know our level of advancement and as I said before they are not stupid. It would be a tactical error to go against Earth with an armada of darts. We can shoot those out of the sky and they know it."

"What are you talking about?" Everett sounded pissed again.

"Hive ships, sir. They don't fit through the Gate. And we have reason to believe they are somewhat slower then the Dedalus. Even with the two day delay, we can catch up to them and pass them. And if I may make a suggestion sir, we should try and inflict as much damage as possible while passing them by."

The Colonel was silent for a few minutes but when he spoke again all the fight had left him. He looked Sheppard straight in the eye as he ordered the marines flanking him to release him from the restraints.

"Consider your self reinstated as military commander of this expedition. I know when I'm out-gunned, you know the enemy better then I do. My men and I will stand by for your orders." The short speech ended with a brisk salute.

When he woke again he felt much better. The only dent in his mood was that the giant bat was in the room with him again. He had a brief moment of panic as the clawed hand rose above him slowly. He realized he was incapable of movement as he was tightly held in a cocoon. The sharp claws tore through the fifer holding him without harming him and he found himself tumbling to the floor in a heap.

"You could warn me before you cut that thing off!" he huffed as he stood. The alien said nothing but helped him regain balance. No matter how often they met, Rodney could not help himself but take a moment to stare at the creature's wings.

"My Queen shall see you now." Spoke Lucifer indicating an exit from the round room they were in. Rodney hesitated for a couple of seconds, but then decided there was no other option than to go see Eve. He wanted answers and she was probably the one who would give them to him. Where were they? How much time had passed? Why wasn't he dead?... _Oh, God! What happened to Earth?_ It hit him with crushing force. He remembered himself, not dead and not really alive either… screaming.

One brief flashback was all there was but it was enough for him to realize that he had lost his mind and was somehow brought back from the edge of madness. They repaired his body and his mind… but how? Why?

He only realized he'd stopped in mid-walk when Lucifer poked him in the shoulder to make him resume the course out of the room. Rodney shook his head lightly and went through the passage the alien indicated.

He was surprised to find her standing in front of a console, engrossed in the information displayed on the screen instead of sitting on a throne looking royal like he expected. He cleared his throat as he stood behind her.

He kneeled as she turned around and stared at the floor as he greeted her in a whisper. He wanted desperately to make the right impression. He didn't know why he had been given a second chance yet, but he intended to use it wisely.

"Greetings, great Queen of the New Allegiance." McKay surprised himself with the almost instinctive knowledge of her proper title. It must have shown in his eyes when she lifted his chin to look at him, because she gave an indulgent smile before she pulled gently to signal she wanted him to stand.

"I am pleased to see your strength has been restored. I see confusion in your eyes." Her voice was painfully familiar.

"What happened to me?"

"You asked me not to let you die. I gave you the gift. You are one of us now." She answered caressing his cheek with a feather-light touch. "I'm afraid my Mate broke you completely by the time you gave in. I thought you would not be able to recover your sense."

"Why did you help me?"

"I promised I would do what ever you wished me to after you helped us. And so I did. You wished to live. And you proved yourself worthy and valuable."

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait! 'One of us'? What does that mean?"

"You are transforming. Every feeding brings you closer to the moment when you will be able to feed alone. More than able, you will be compelled. I'm sure you feel different already."

Rodney's hand came up to cover his chest as he remembered a clawed hand resting there while… while he watched someone wither away and die. Lucifer had fed him with other people's lives! He'd acted like a huge… winged transistor. He looked at his palms. There were no slits yet. But there was a faint outline in the centre like something growing under his skin. He was changing, and not just in a physical sense. The detachment he felt and the instinctive awareness of Wraith etiquette… the part of him that was still human shuddered.

"No… No! Stop it! Make it stop!"

"Soon you will forget. By the time we reach your world you will be able to feed by yourself and join us in the feast."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

The usual thanks to my wonderful beta reader, Leah. She made it possible for me to post to this site. Thanks, hon:)

Rodney McKay was hungry. No, he was ravenous. Being hypoglycemic, he thought he had known the exact extent to which hunger could hurt. Now he found he had been wrong.

The vertigo and cold sweat that accompanied hunger in the past were mere ghosts of what he was feeling now. His chest constricted painfully and his vision was unfocused. As he looked down at the palms of his hands, he had to blink several times before he could see his skin, now tinged blue, slowly parting as if slashed open by an invisible blade. It didn't hurt and it didn't bleed, but the feeling of emptiness got stronger. 

Other things had changed too in the time that had passed since his first and last discussion with Eve. It had ended with him trying to choke her to death. He had never felt such determination before, but he was turning into a Wraith and he couldn't stop it from happening.

He had attacked her, spurred on by her calm, twisted smile. He had pinned her against a wall and pushed his thumbs into the smooth and soft skin of her neck. Her eyes had rolled up in their sockets and her hands had pushed and scratched at his chest, breaking the skin in several places before strong arms had pulled him off her.

The next thing he knew, he was flung into a small cell-like room, left all alone and screaming.

_Yup, that was smart! The smartest thing I've done in a long time,_ he thought. She had been furious. He could feel her anger like it was his own.

Rodney curled around himself in a corner and tried to calm his racing mind enough to fall asleep. His muscles twitched and tensed under his skin painfully and he bit his lip, breathing in deeply through his nose. He was on a Hive ship. He knew it. And they were headed towards the Milky Way. There was a murmur of voices in the back of his head and he found that if he could calm down just a little bit, he could actually bring them into focus one by one and listen to them. There was one thought that united them all--New feeding grounds. There was excitement behind that thought and something akin to weariness.

He found himself sharing the feelings. He was so hungry. He'd have given anything for the ache to be soothed. He willed himself to sleep, but sleep would not come. Time was meaningless as his insides burned and twisted in pain.

He had been facing the wall, and Rodney only realized he had company when a hand closed over his shoulder and turned him over. The first thing he saw was a pair of huge wings, folded over his visitor's back.

"Batty..." he croaked in a strangled, rough voice. "Long time no see?" It was more a question than a statement, because he could no longer quantify the passage of time. 

"You live," the alien said levelly. He studied Rodney's hands, one after the other. As a clawed, heavy finger traced the newly opened slit in the center of his palm, Rodney's head snapped up. He pulled his hand away, clutching it to his chest. It felt...weird. It was the only word that came to mind. "Do you feel the hunger?"

"You fucking know I do, you twisted bastard!" The words had left his mouth before any censorship mechanism could interfere. Rodney didn't exactly regret insulting the damned creature, but something told him that if he kept up the hostility for much longer, he wouldn't live to tell the story. He took a deep breath to try and center himself and sat up.

Lucifer stood tall in front of him, head tilted to the side, a smirk on his dark, alien lips.

"I mean, um..." If only he had some social grace at all! "I'm hungry," he finally stated in a defeated voice.

The smirk actually softened into a smile. He was helped to stand. "Then come."

Rodney followed Lucifer in silence. Things looked different now. The walls seemed more alive and their bioluminescence was a warm, golden glow that made him feel safe. The murmur of voices in his head had become comfortable too, like a cushion for his own thoughts. A Wraith passed them by as they made their way through he corridor, and his yellow eyes swept over Rodney before inclining his head in a silent greeting. Rodney felt the touch of the other's mind and shuddered, moving closer to his guide as if seeking protection before he realized his guide was probably scarier than the Wraith passing by. 

Lucifer felt the change and moved a wing to envelop Rodney and pull him to his side.

"You act like a new offspring. Soon you will learn," the winged alien said and Rodney thought there was--affection?--in his voice. He shook his head. No, it couldn't be. He was hungry and he was hallucinating. He kept his eyes on the floor in front of him from then on.

They entered a large room where the walls gave no light. As his eyes adjusted, McKay's breath caught in his throat when he realized where they were. The walls were lined with cocoons.

"No...no, no, no, no, no, no. No!" he muttered under his breath looking around with huge eyes.

"Choose."

"I--I can't. No, please, don't make me do this. Give me food, please, human food." Rodney's voice sounded broken, barely above whisper. He was pushed closer to one of the cocoons then and the dark-haired man inside stirred awake as if sensing their approach. Rodney could smell the fear on the man's skin and beneath that smell laid another. Subtle, sweet, the smell of strength, the smell of life.

He felt mesmerized as Lucifer guided his hand to the man's chest.

"You must break the webbing and push your palm under the point where his ribs meet. Don't push too hard, or you'll break his bones and kill him prematurely. That would be wasteful. Push!"

The smell was dancing all around him and Lucifer's voice was like a siren's song in his ear, hypnotizing him, making him move. He felt the webbing give under the pressure he put on it and then...there was flesh under his hand and he pushed on. The blood was hot and slick and the crack of bones told him to stop pushing. There was sound as well, but he couldn't focus enough to distinguish what it was.

Relief washed over him. Rodney's arm tingled on the inside as if whatever it was he took from his prey shot straight into his veins. His eyes closed and he let his head roll back onto Lucifer's chest. Pleasure enveloped him, making him weak in the knees and he grabbed onto the arm that came to rest over his own chest, supporting him.

The sound in the background became louder and louder until it crystallized into a shrill scream. It was the sound of agony. Rodney knew the man was screaming his last breath. Then there was nothing. The smell dissipated and the power stopped coming. The man was dead. Rodney pushed harder, hoping to find some more energy in the dried-out corpse, but the only thing he achieved was to drive his hand into the hulk's thorax. It was still hot inside, though there was no moisture.

"I...I'm so sorry," Rodney whispered, pulling his hand out.

"You can come here and feed when the need arises. Do not wait until the pain comes. It harms you. After you finish, you pull this lever and push buttons in this sequence." Lucifer demonstrated, opening a panel next to the cocoon. As he completed the procedure there came an aspiration sound and the corpse slid down as if through the floor along with the webbing, leaving an empty pod behind. "This way nothing is wasted--what remains of them is transformed into fuel."

The _Daedalus_ had been on route for a little over twelve Atlantean days when the sensors picked up an energy signature that could only come from a spaceship moving in and out of hyperspace. They were traveling steadily in hyperspace themselves, hoping to catch up to the Hive ships. Zelenka smiled and frowned at the same time as he introduced the data into the computer. A schematic appeared on the screen several minutes later.

"There," the Czech said, pointing to the screen. "They will drop out of hyperspace again there."

"Can we get there first?" asked Sheppard, leaning on the back of the scientist's chair to take a closer look.

"It would be straining on our generator, but not impossible."

"Make the adjustments to our route. I'm gonna go have a chat with Colonel Caldwell." There was enthusiasm in John's voice, but more than anything, there was hope.

He walked briskly toward the main bridge where he knew the Colonel spent all of his time. Sometimes he thought the man even slept there. He radioed Elizabeth on the way to ask her to meet them there, along with the members of the Atlantis senior staff. He needed as many voices in his corner as possible when facing the commanding officer of the _Daedalus_. He also informed Colonel Everett of the meeting and kindly requested his presence. It had been Everett's evaluation of the situation that got Caldwell to turn his ship around. Sheppard was slowly starting to get fed up of the instant dislike the people who only knew him from mission reports tended to take to him. Yes, he had shot Sumner. He would do it all over again if he had to. He knew he had a reputation of not following orders, but God damn it! Couldn't people just leave the past alone?

"We have picked up some traces of the Hive ships. Dr. Zelenka says we can catch up to them when they next exit hyperspace," he said, cutting to the chase before anyone could derail him.

"So, this meeting is, I presume, to discuss strategy?" Caldwell asked raising an ironic brow. 

"Yes, sir."

Lilith sat alone in the dark. And silence was all around her. Her green eyes were closed and her arms folded over her breasts in a position that would remind humans of an Egyptian royal figure.

Rodney McKay's transformation had finally opened his mind to her the way every Wraith's mind was open. Before, she could get any information she wanted from him, but she had to know what she was looking for to find it. Now it was just there, at the tips of her fingers, pouring over her.

She marveled at everything she was able to learn about humans. Their minds, their history, their politics and wars...the wars had impressed her most. They scared her and gave her insights she would never have dreamed to have otherwise. She was sure the humans she was familiar with, the ones in the Pegasus galaxy, were not like Rodney's humans. The Wraith had roamed the Pegasus from the beginning, and that had given its human population a common enemy to fend against.

These humans she found traces of in his memories were different. They were...vicious. They were predators to be reckoned with, to be feared and respected. The Lanteans had been ruthless, but even they had been less intimidating. Maybe if the humans of Earth survived their own ways of life for long enough they would become like the Lanteans. But for now, their individual desires still burned far too bright.

The Wraith Queen started to see how she could use these things to her own advantage. If she approached Earth in a way that would not inspire fear immediately and if she sought out and made the right allegiances...she could have them fighting each other and in the end she could feast on those who won.

Her lips parted in a smile, revealing her teeth. They were already divided, all she needed to do was to drive the rift further. Lilith opened her eyes and they shone like emerald shards in the sunlight. The light in the chamber adjusted to her new state of consciousness. The meditation was over. She had gone through all the new information that the human's transformation provided.

The ship informed her they were going to exist hyperspace in a short while to give the engine time to refuel. She gave her consent to the procedure and went to find her First Mate. She opened her mind to his and he led her to his whereabouts.

Lucifer met Lilith with a flap of his huge wings. She extended her hand toward him, palm up, invitingly. It was the kind of invitation he never refused. Their slits met and he squeezed her hand in his.

"I forgot what this was like. I forgot you," he said in a husky voice, pulling her close. Her other hand rested on his chest and she bent her head to rest her cheek on his shoulder in the crook of his left wing.

They stayed like that in silence for a long time. She was the one to break their silent lovemaking. His pupils were dilated when he looked at her, making his eyes seem pitch black. She smiled and brushed her lips over his. Lucifer blinked in confusion.

"The humans call that a kiss. It is quite pleasant once you become accustomed to it."

"I believe you should share such...pleasures with those who taught them to you." His voice was harsh, if barely above a whisper.

"I did not wish to anger you, forgive me. What are your thoughts about our new one?" she asked, taking a step back.

"He is able to feed on his own. The transformation was successful. He will survive it. You must be pleased." Lucifer refolded his wings over his broad shoulders.

"His mind is great. There is information there I find very valuable. The humans of Earth are very different from those we know."

"I agree."

"The Rings can take us so much further than we thought possible. Their world is larger, the nourishment will be plentiful. Our numbers may now increase and the universe is truly infinite." Her eyes were glowing with excitement.

"There is information on other species now. I am worried about the ones his kind call Goa'uld. They are not human, and yet intelligent. I feel a threat there. You are a dreamer, my Queen. I would advise patience."

"Of course. Battles must be fought one at a time. The Goa'uld seem to be an arrogant species. Such beings are easily overcome. I wonder how many galaxies hold human life? How large will our hunting grounds be, once we establish our rule in the Milky Way?"

"There will be pleasure and hunting and games. Time is our ally."

Rodney stood staring at the empty pod in front of him for a long time before retreating to his new chambers. He found that a Wraith was never truly alone. Even after the membrane at the entrance to his room closed like the lid over a gigantic eye, he could still feel them vividly.

When the Hive exited hyperspace he felt it in a way his human astrophysicist mind would not have deemed possible. The ship was more alive than he could have dreamed, and though the transition was smooth he felt it like a tug to the gut.

His anger towards the Queen had vanished now. It had been dictated by the part in him that was still human at that time. Now he wished for her presence. He knew that he could not summon her to him. He was bound by the new laws of his existence. 

He had to wait for her to seek him out, if she ever would. He sat on a web armchair and wondered. Would Lilith come to find him? He couldn't sense any anger from her, but there was nothing else, either. The Queen had a privileged position in the Hive, for she could close her mind to the others.

He longed to see her. 

Somewhere, in the bowels of the ship, dried out human husks were burned into fuel and Rodney shuddered. His body had completed the transformation and that had changed a few things about his mind too. But his human memories were all still intact. He wondered if they would fade in time. Would he forget about those he loved? Would he at some point feed on Jeannie and not recognize her? Thoughts of his sister made his chest ache.

Once, he had stepped through the Gate to Atlantis. Once he had made the decision that he would go to another galaxy possibly never to return. Then it had felt like an opportunity. The trill of discovery had dulled the ache of never seeing familiar places and faces again.

Now he was headed towards Earth, an opportunity he had stopped thinking about long ago. But once there, he would not be able to get on a plane to Canada... He had to see Lilith. He had to ask for his sister's life. The thought of her dying because of him, because he couldn't do anything to prevent it, was unbearable.

Suddenly the fear he felt amplified and he knew it wasn't his own anymore. He felt the ship shuddering. The floor shook under his feet. They were under attack. The ship could not raise the shields yet, it still didn't have enough energy. Emergency programs came online and as the walls of his chamber lost their bioluminescence, he was plunged into darkness. 

Confusion was in the air as he made his way to the main deck. Everybody gathered there instinctively. He could see the soldiers take position at various weapon control consoles. He had no place in the hierarchy of his new society and had no place there, no task to fulfill. Lilith was there too. She was sat in her high seat, overseeing everything. Her orders were given in silence--she touched every mind in the room.

He longed to be of service. Her green eyes locked with his for a split second and she ordered him to take over a console that redirected energy from one application to another. He could see on the screen in front of him which areas were less exposed to attack and weaken the shield there in order to allow the most energy for the weapons used.

He worked fast and efficiently. _Energy...we need to make more fuel... My Queen, we must sacrifice some of our nourishment resources._ Her consent came like a wave of warmth. He called up a status file on the humans in the Feeding Hall. There were millions of lives there. He wrote a protocol that would choose the weakest according to a list of parameters that he set and release them to the bowels of the ship to be transformed into fuel. Almost a third of the lives disappeared from his screen. The available energy levels soared higher within seconds. They could now sustain the battle.

He armed the energy weapons and after the fourth discharge he redirected all resources to the engines. The ship obeyed him as if it were one of his limbs and entered hyperspace, shaking violently. Seconds later they exited into the natural space-time continuum. Their attackers, whoever they were, were now far behind.

"I don't know what they did! They just entered hyperspace again!" The technician gestured helplessly.

"Well, do something!" Caldwell yelled in exasperation.

"There is nothing more to be attempted now, Colonel," Hermiod intervened in his usual calm voice, blinking for emphasis. 

"Fuck!"

Teyla stirred in her seat and opened her eyes. Elizabeth, who had kept a close eye on her with Carson, leaned in closer. Her features were pained and there was sheen of sweat on her brow.

"Well, Lass? Is Rodney with them?" Carson's Scottish brogue was thick with worry.

"I--I made contact with him." Horror was evident in Teyla's brown eyes, and her voice shook as she spoke. Elizabeth had never seen her so pale.

"How? He's alive?" Weir's question was laced with hope and incredulity. Her hand tightened on Teyla's shoulder.

"He's one of them." The Athosian rubbed her palms over her face, exhaling forcefully. "Dr. McKay is a Wraith."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Big thank you to Leah for keeping my characters... well, in character :)

The light around the room was a pale shade of orange and faint vibrations from the walls made his skin tingle pleasantly. Lucifer stretched his wings to their full span and gave a little flap before refolding them. It felt good to be alive again, to have Lilith by his side again. Even if the population of the Hive was not made of their offspring, he felt at home.

He hadn't thought of her in his centuries of loneliness.

The first separation, when she was taken by the Lanteans, had driven him insane. Being separated from his Queen was the worst thing any male of his species could endure. He'd lost all sense of direction, flying into slabs of rock or just circling aimlessly in the air. Without her scent to guide him, he was lost.

They had taken their offspring as well, ten individuals from every stage of development within their nest.

Then she was returned to him and he almost killed her before recognizing her. They had changed something in her. She smelled different. He knew she was different when he first met her. Yet he did not care.

Then humans started coming to her as if mesmerized by the new scent about her. They made a new nest for themselves, and their new offspring grew strong, for nourishment was plentiful. When the humans took her the second time, he killed all the unborn progeny she left behind and set fire to their nest. He didn't want anything to survive if she died. He believed they would kill her this time. He became wild and a loner. No other Queen managed to hold his interest.

He roamed many worlds, marking them as his hunting grounds and eliminating any other Wraith spawn he encountered there. The Queens that tried to tie him to their own Hives either gave up soon enough or died by his hand. The years and centuries and millennia went by like the slow, agonizing heartbeats of a dying creature.

Now he had her again and the Lanteans were no more. It was ironic, really. They had done their best to ensure his species went extinct and instead they were the ones that had. Only this time she wasn't his Queen, not yet. They were allies, old acquaintances, yes, maybe even lovers. But not mates. He was quite fond of his free male status. He had been thus for so long, he doubted he could be a bonded mate once more.

The newcomer was an intriguing creature. Lucifer wondered idly if he would find a mate among the dwellers of this Hive sooner or later or become one of Lilith's companions. Lucifer didn't think she would be bonded with the newcomer, but then she had done many unthought-of things before. The new one would be a fool to allow himself to become companion to a Queen as old as Lilith. He would be used to exhaustion, and buried without ceremony when he finally succumbed because of it.

For some reason, Lucifer liked him. He liked him enough to want him around as long as possible. Maybe it was because there was so much strength and resilience in him. He would make a fine soldier, an excellent scientist. He had the wisdom and the resourcefulness for it. He must have been one or the other among the humans as well, Lucifer was certain, if not they had been foolishly wasting his potential.

Lucifer sighed softly as he stood up straight. He set out toward the Great Hall. There would be celebrations there soon, and they would be mostly in honor of the one called Rodney. Thus he would be welcomed into the Hive and celebrated for his insightful actions during the encounter with the human's vessel. The newcomer, the one they called Rodney. _Yes,_ Lucifer mused, _he will be great company_. 

Lilith was already there, surrounded by the Hive's sisterhood. All of them were holding hands, standing in a circle as they shared the joy of a won battle, their bonded mates and companions swarming around them. Lucifer was pleased to see Rodney standing in a group of free males. He only looked a little frantic, but otherwise held his own in the conversation. Lucifer walked over and let one of his hands fall on Rodney's shoulder. This startled the young male, and he turned a little too fast, fear mixing with aggression in his gaze. Lucifer bared his teeth in a pleased smile. 

"Hi. I was wondering when you would show up." Rodney said trying hard to keep the nervousness out of his voice. 

He was overwhelmed. He had acted on instinct and the impossible-to-resist desire to please Lilith when he made the maneuver that got them out of harm's way. He had been shocked afterward. He just stood stock still, staring at the screen in front of him as the others in the room surrounded him and proceeded to pat his shoulders or embrace him and rub their cheeks against his. He'd killed so many with a simple gesture and he'd saved the Wraith from the humans. His humans.

No. Not his anymore.

He had felt the touch to his mind just before he managed to get the Hive to leap into hyperspace again. He recognized her almost instantly. Teyla knew. She knew what he was now and what he had been about to do. He hadn't tried to block her, to close his mind. Instead, he'd opened it wide for her to see it all. He'd wanted to feel her close. It had comforted him to have her familiar presence there, even if it for only a few seconds. He'd felt human again for those seconds, and had been appalled by what he was about to do. But he couldn't stop himself, and even if he'd been able to, doing so would have given Teyla's presence in his mind away to Lilith. This way he could keep his last brush with humanity to himself, like a precious secret.

When the Hive moved into hyperspace and severed the connection, Rodney had felt like one of his limbs had been torn off. He'd kept the pain hidden away, along with the joy of having felt a human touch when he'd given up all hope of that ever happening again. 

He had been led away to an adjoining room, and there two females had painted a pattern on his right temple. They'd told him it was a reward, that it would tell every one of his great deeds that day. When they were finished, there had been a design of intricate little spirals adorning his skin. Just when he had begun to wonder how the paint would stay on, a third female had come in with something that looked a lot like a tattoo needle.

Rodney had found that some things stayed the same even if he had changed species somewhat. He still hated needles with a passion.

The greatest shock had been yet to come, though. When she had been done branding him (no matter how much he tried to, he couldn't think about it as other than that), she'd held up a polished square of metal in front of him. That was when Rodney saw himself for the first time since his transformation.

"Oh," was all he'd managed, as he'd looked into the light purple eyes looking back at him from the mirror. His skin was tinged blue, like his hands, so that was not such a big surprise. His hair had grown darker, closer to Sheppard's shade of brown.

_Sheppard._ Rodney's throat had tightened. They all knew, now, what he had become and what he had done. He'd been overwhelmed by the situation, his two opposite needs--pleasing his Queen and having a brief contact with another human, had raked havoc on his thought processes, reducing him to an instinct-driven creature.

He was in constant turmoil. Sometimes he couldn't remember his human past at all. There was no hint of Atlantis, Stargate Command or his family in his mind. Those times it was like he had always been a Wraith. But then there were other times, when memories came flooding back...the smallest thing would trigger them and he would be lost. It was in those moments that Rodney thought he could empathize with schizophrenics.

"He's still alive, dammit! I'm not going to give up on him!" Sheppard said through gritted teeth, trying hard and failing to keep the rage from his voice.

"No, John, _he_ is not." A soft voice replied. He hadn't expected her to speak. He hadn't expected her to say such a thing. But it was Teyla's voice all the same. "The being I contacted was a Wraith. He killed thousands of people without remorse. Rodney McKay is dead."

John's eyes burned a hole through her as he looked her square in the eye. He had never wanted to hit a woman before, but he did now. During training sessions, sure, when he knew he would get as good as he gave. But now he just wanted to make her shut up. His hands balled into fists at his sides and his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply.

The fact that her eyes were wet with tears she wouldn't shed didn't change how he felt, how much he hated her in that moment.

"There you have it, Major. The man you knew, _your_ man, is dead. This isn't about leaving someone wounded or captured behind. This isn't Afghanistan. The mission of this ship is now to reach Earth before the Wraith do. Should we manage to encounter the Hive again, we will shoot to kill." Caldwell's voice was calm and even, and yet it held a provocation that made John's already-tight nerves fairly snap with rage. John was sure that his superior officer was just waiting for him to respond to it, so he could have him confined to his quarters for the rest of the journey. He couldn't afford that. _If_ and when they ever encountered the Hive again, he had to be able to act. To save Rodney, to bring him back to them.

So John just smiled a feral smile and nodded.

"There are five Hive ships headed toward your galaxy," Teyla said. "I only saw one Queen--Eve." Teyla was speaking in her usual soft manner, though she was frowning, as if remembering exactly what she had found during her mental connection required an effort. "The other Queens are already there, with the majority of the population of their Hives and with their soldier drones. They will establish strongholds on worlds where they encounter least resistance, and wait to be reunited with the Hives and Eve before taking Earth."

"Good. This gives us an advantage. We can get to Earth before they do. We can mount some sort of resistance. We can get help from the Asgard. Maybe even the Nox..." Caldwell mused. "Doctor Zelenka, how long before we can communicate with Earth?"

"Nine days before we'll be in range for deep space communication," the Czech answered without looking up from his laptop. "That might be outdated information, however. I am now calculating their possible new trajectories through hyperspace given their point of entry." He took a breath. "There is a sixty-eight percent probability that they are not headed toward the Milky Way anymore. We may have disrupted their route with our attack." He finally looked up as he finished speaking.

"Or they are going back to Atlantis?" Caldwell asked the table at large. He turned to Teyla. "You said McKay made no actual effort to stop you getting this information from his mind--what if he was feeding it to you on purpose?"

John bristled. "With all due respect, sir—"

"No, Major Sheppard," Caldwell interjected. "This could be a wild-goose chase and you know it! We just may have given up our claim to Atlantis on a ruse. We left people there. Don't you care what happens to them?"

Elizabeth had grown paler in the last few minutes than anybody had ever seen her before. Caldwell's words were a low blow and she knew he knew it, even if she had to concede that it was a possibility.

She had to mediate the situation between the two soldiers before things got even worse between them than they already were. The last thing Atlantis--and Rodney--needed was pointless jockeying for position. Not with so much at stake. She stomped down an impulse to knock their heads together. She needed everybody to calm down and think.

"It seems to me that if you gentlemen would have it your way, you'd bring all our chances down to zero," she snapped at both of them. Glaring, she continued. "I'm going to do something that no one in my position has ever done before or ever will do, officially. I'm actually going to give you a diplomat's honest opinion. Major Sheppard," she said, turning her glare specifically on him, "if you do not stop forcing the Colonel's hand, you will end up in confinement and might even lose your position. I know you don't care too much about that at the moment, but it would be nice if you considered everyone else on Atlantis, who might benefit from you keeping your job. Rodney included." She knew she'd made her point when John's gaze flicked away.

Elizabeth rested her elbows on the table, steepling her hands in front of her. "Colonel Caldwell. You are Commanding Officer of the _Dedalus_, and you do hold the superior rank, yet you must consider that on board this ship there are soldiers whose loyalties lay with Major Sheppard." She narrowed her eyes. "The two of you will end up with a small civil war breaking out if you keep up this cock and balls attitude."

Both men were silent for a while after that. Even Zelenka looked astonished.

"Did you actually say cock and balls?" Sheppard broke the awkward moment with a smile. She didn't return the smile, but Elizabeth knew she'd gotten through to them.

"Would you speak with me?" Lucifer asked without removing his hand from Rodney's shoulder. 

"Ah...yes? Why?" there was a measure of alarm in his voice as he tried to inch away from the winged alien. Of course he couldn't think of him in such terms any longer. Now he was no more an alien than Eve was...Rodney belonged to them. "Yes." Rodney finally said in a firmer tone and squared his shoulders. 

"After the celebration, then?" Lucifer asked, his voice strangely kind. Rodney nodded and watched him refold his wings before moving over to where Lilith stood. The other females had left her side and scattered around the room. Rodney watched as she gently touched his shoulder as if to welcome him, and Lucifer bowed his head slightly. It looked like these are well practiced gestures, that they meant something between the two of them, and Rodney felt a spike of jealousy. He missed having her around. He missed having her like he did in Atlantis, when they were equals. Now he felt less than her, too inadequate to pursue her. On a rational level he knew that was because of his new genetic make up. She was Queen of the Hive.

He didn't even see the dark-haired Sister approaching him until she took his hand in hers and pressed her lips to the inside of his wrist. He gave a startled yelp and tried to return her smile. She ran a caressing finger over the pattern at his right temple.

"Most courageous," She murmured, bringing her cheek next to his. Her scent was strong and demanding. Rodney felt dizzy with it. Her pale yellow dress flattered her willowy silhouette, leaving her round shoulders bare.

Eve was on the other side of the room. Rodney could still see her out of the corner of his eye. He wished it was her holding his hands and running a finger over the slit in his palm. She hadn't touched him since he transformed. She kept her distance instead, as if he was no different, no better, than any of the other drones of the Hive. He wondered briefly if that was what Batty--Lucifer--was going to talk to him about.

He caught Eve's eye for a fraction of a second, and Rodney felt the touch of her mind, light like the wings of a butterfly. His black-haired groupie seemed to sense the charge in the air about him, the intensity of his gaze as it fixed upon the Queen. She hissed under her breath and retreated, still keeping an odd grace in her movements.

Rodney wasn't in a mood for celebrations anyway. He felt hungry but he couldn't make himself go to the Feeding Hall. Not now, not while he still remembered. He would go to his room and wait there until everything faded again. He would sleep, and hope he couldn't remember having been human when he woke up.

He slipped away without anyone noticing and hurried along the narrow corridors with their yellow bioluminescence and slightly pulsating walls. A sigh of relief left Rodney's lips as the membrane door slid shut behind him. He sat down on his web bed, covering his face with his forearm. He replayed his mental encounter with Teyla. He hoped he had managed to convey everything properly. He'd never been one for meditation and polishing his thoughts, and delivering the information he needed to pass to her had been no picnic. He wanted her to know there were Wraith in the Milky Way. He wanted her to know about the Hives traveling along with the one he currently inhabited, but he also so badly wanted to tell her how very sorry he was for betraying them, for letting them down and leaving them alone.

He wanted to tell her how much he wished he could be on board the _Dedalus_ with them, instead of on the Hive ship.

Rodney had to order all these thoughts and urges and sort through them carefully, only let through the really important ones, the ones that might shift the balance of the war. Because Rodney was certain that there would be war.

He just hoped he succeeded.

_Most courageous_, the Wraith had called him. Little did she, did they, know that he was cowardly enough to prefer anything to his demise. That's what everything boiled down to--He had begged Lilith to let him live and she had. It was all his fault, everything that had happened after that. Now he would have to beg again. But this time not for himself. 

He was torn. He wanted to forget being human, wanted it to stop hurting, but at the same time he _needed_ to remember.

He missed his labs back in Atlantis and all his minions with their moronic mistakes and misunderstandings. He missed pillows, for goodness sake! Furniture here was absent except for the bare minimum and there were no sheets anywhere. He snorted in the silence of his room as he turned onto his front and put his arms over his head to block out the glow of his walls.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hi! Just a quick note to let you guys know I posted this chapter before my beta could get back to me (sorry!). But I just couldn't wait. So, here goes chapter 12 un-betaed for now, I'll change it to the betaed version ASAP. And since I'm doing this author's notes stuff, I MUST thank you guys, my readers for the patience in waiting for new chapters(I know I kept you waiting, for which I'm sorry). I'll try to have number 13 up sooner than usual for I have a strong feeling it will be the last one on this story, but I still need to work out some stuff about Eve which is why reactions to this one are important which is why I am impatient to post. Right. On with the story!

It was bad. They had not encountered any more hive ships and the rest of the ride home had been smooth. Except John's anger only grew. The more he tried to make himself focus and see past his guilty conscience the worst it got. The voice in his head, the one that usually sounded like his father, kept telling him what a failure he was. As a soldier, as a man, as a person. He hated feeling this impotent.

The bed was too narrow and his sheet tangled in his legs. Again. As he turned furiously trying to untangle himself without actually opening his eyes the rage inside him grew. He stiffened in the sweat soaked bed, took a deep breath and gave it one last try. The wet cotton did not yield. Another turn and he fell unceremoniously to the floor with a thud. The surprise made him still. He sat up, all pretense of keeping his eyes shut gone to hell.

The sobs came naturally after that. His exhausted body and mind gave in to the shudders and soon enough he was huddled on the floor, head between knees, crying into his fists. The moment ended as quickly as it began and untangling himself finally from the mess that used to serve as his sheet, he stumbled to the small service bathroom. He thought the light on before actually reaching out and flicking it on. He missed Atlantis.

After the short shower John felt human again and too wound up to try and go back to sleep he pulled on his uniform and went to the Dedalus' commissary instead. He just meant to grab a cup of coffee before an extra-early work-out session. The hall was empty except for a brown haired person huddled behind a laptop, in the far corner. Sheppard couldn't stop a smile as he approached.

"Hey, Elizabeth."

"Hi." Her eyes held questions but her smile was genuine even if a bit tired.

"Been here all night?" he asked pushing the coffee he'd gotten for himself towards her.

"Now that you put it that way, I guess I have. What's up with you?" she took the bitter liquid gratefully and pushed the laptop away.

"What are you working on?" Sheppard asked as he went over to the coffee machine to get another one.

"The message for the Nox and the Asgard… we need to convince them to interfere. As far as I know neither race does that easily. They might not see the Wraith as an enemy. It's like this. You wouldn't drive the lions extinct for the sake of antelopes, would you?"

His eyes narrowed but before he could argue she went on. "I don't like it either. But it is the truth. We are not the top of the food chain any longer. We stopped being the most evolved species the moment we opened the Stargate." Elizabeth was looking at her own wrists now, head bowed so he couldn't see the green of her eyes. "What it we are left alone in this war?" she asked barely above whisper.

John ached to get away. He couldn't bare the sight of an insecure Elizabeth. In the time passed sharing command of Atlantis he had come to rely on her strength. She was always there to temper his enthusiasm. Always the calm and collected voice of reason. And now here she was, paper cup shaking in her hand, pale and tired with dark circles under eyes that lost their shine.

He wanted to say something that would restore her hope, but there was no such thing. They would be in orbit above Earth in a matter of hours. As much as he wanted to get to Earth sooner and start i doing /i something in stead of being trapped in an over-sized tin can floating in space, the closer that moment came the more he dreaded it. Once on Earth he would be forced to admit that there really was nothing to be done. There would be war, there would be blood shed, and they might even find and attack some of the new Wraith home-worlds. It would not be enough. McKay would not be on any of those worlds. And if he was, he would not fight on Sheppard's side. There was nothing to be done.

So he hung his head, exhaled and stood quickly leaving Elizabeth staring into her now cold coffee.

888

But there was a lot to be done. The SGC was buzzing with activity. After they beamed themselves down into the bowels of the mountain everything started falling into place. They'd organized SG teams to scout for information and Sheppard ended up leading one of them. Elizabeth was gone through the Gate as soon as the first report about the situation was given. Five days passed in a blur of planets for John and as exhaustion started to show it's pale face so did a glimmer of hope.

As he sat down at the debriefing table he felt more in control then he had since he met Eve almost a year earlier on that sandy abandoned desert planet. Elizabeth was sitting across from him, looking just as pale as she had last he saw her but now there was a spark in her eye. It wasn't the usual bright spark of reason though. It was closer to the glassy brightness in the eyes of someone ravaged by fever.

"All right folks. What do we know?" General O'Neill asked in his casual voice.

A few moments of tired silence followed his question, but then Daniel Jackson spoke. "As far as we can tell the information Miss Emmagan got from Dr McKay is correct. There are seven Wraith Queens in the Milky Way. Now as far as we could find out from our different missions things aren't going as well as they might have hoped. It seems there is a power struggle going on in their midst." Daniel licked his lips as he flicked through a folder in front of him. "There was a conflict when it came to dividing the territory. Three of the Queens managed to maintain an alliance and they have most of the other wraith still in their command. The other four fled with only their immediate clans and are being hunted down by the three. We don't know if these three are still loyal to Eve, but there are reasons to suspect they have their own plans."

Sheppard knew as much already, most of the information in the folder Jackson held had been gathered by the team under his command. He allowed himself a smile all the same.

"As far as we know Eve's hive has not yet made it to our galaxy but she can't be far away. She won't be pleased when she gets here, that's for sure." Someone else spoke.

"The System Lords are also engaged in war against the Three Queen alliance. Some of them are thought to be harboring one or more of the renegade Queens. We have been approached by an emissary of Lord Baal." Teal'c continued in his even baritone.

"Are we that desperate?" O'Neill asked looking at Elizabeth. She cleared her throat and sat up straight in her chair. Sheppard did not like what her body language conveyed.

"The Nox have refused to assist us with weapons or troops or technology. They have offered asylum. We may evacuate to one of the planets under their protection. If we choose to do so they forbid us from using their planet as base for initiating attacks." She looked down to where her hands rested on the table, fingers tightly entwined. "The Asgard will be able to spare three ships from their fleet and Thor assured me he would be aboard one of them to assist technologically. Unfortunately they are losing the war against the replicators and their worlds are systematically taken over."

There was a ruffle of hurried footsteps on the corridor just as the off-world activation alarm went off. Everybody stood in unison and hurried to the Gate-room.

"Colonel Carter's team returning from P7Q-2134, Sir." The technician announced even as he made the iris open to show the blue glimmering event horizon behind it. Sure enough five figures broke through in matter of seconds and the wormhole disengaged behind them. One had long black hair going down to her knees and falling in curtains hiding a face that Sheppard knew would not be human.

"Carter?"

"We captured one of the Queens, sir."

On a closer look the wraith was wounded, it's beautiful garment sullied by her almost black blood and she slumped in the hold of the two soldiers flanking her. Sheppard swallowed around the lump forming in his throat at being this close to a Queen. Even wounded and weakened she was intimidating. And when she lifted her head to pin him with her blood-red eyes he fought down a new wave of panic. Yet he found himself wishing that the black mane was magenta and those fearsome eyes were green.

He did not hesitate to request permission to conduct the interrogation and O'Neill didn't hesitate in giving it. He considered asking the guards to leave him alone with the prisoner, decided against it. He approached carefully. He could see her alien flesh knitting through the holes the bullets tore in her lovely red tunic. She was very lanky, bones visible under her skin, all sharp edges. If it wasn't for her eyes one might be inclined to feel sorry for her.

"What is your name?" John found himself asking even though he really couldn't care less, nor did he expect an answer beyond the now familiar hiss. He was already pondering calling her Sue when her clear cutting voice whispered.

"Ereskigal."

"What?"

She looked up, letting her thick hair fall back over her shoulders. Her lips drew back reveling a frightening mouthful of teeth.

"My name, human." Her voice was louder now.

"Let me just ask this…I've been curios about it ever since I woke you guys up. Why the teeth? I mean it's not like you actually eat with your mouths. You don't really need them, do you?" Sheppard's tone denoted actual curiosity that never really reached his eyes.

Ereskigal blinked and moved her arms behind her, testing the restrains, the movement emphasizing her shoulder joints and collar bones which stood out obscenely now.

"Well? Talk to me? Don't you guys have dentists? Someone to fix that mouthful of horrors, make you just a tad less scary?" Sheppard stood up and started pacing. The marines standing by the door were giving each other questioning looks. He would have to find something worthwhile to ask and soon. So: "Are you loyal to Lilith?"

"Yes."

"Have you been in contact with her hive?"

"No."

"What is she planning to do once she gets here?"

And there was that shark smile again. "You are pathetic. You tried to stop us from reaching this place. Yet here we stand. You have no chance."

"We'll see about that."

John left letting the door shut loudly behind him. His head was spinning with rage. But he'd had an idea. Her red gleaming eyes that seemed to somehow be able to see under his flesh and into his very core in combination with what he'd heard in the briefing room earlier had given him the insight.

When he got to General O'Neill's office Colonel Carter was still in there. Normally he would have waited for their discussion to be over but things had ceased being normal a long time ago when a metallic armchair had lit up under his butt as he sat in it.

888

"Well?" he asked impatiently as Dr. Jackson exited the event horizon followed closely by Colonel Carter. She looked tired and the dark marks left by sand sticking to her sweat soaked face did nothing to improve her general appearance.

"The Tok'ra will not do it. It is against all their beliefs. The High Council has refused our approach." Daniel spoke in an even tone. "However, Baal din not have any problems with it. He wants to do it himself."

"Yeah, well I have a problem with Baal doing this. Carter, couldn't you convince that Martouf guy? Weren't you almost dating or something?" Jack interrupted Daniel.

"No, sir. The Tok'ra have made their position on this subject very clear. They will not participate in this manner. We left Dr. Weir's diplomatic team there for further negotiations on weapons and man power they'd be willing to involve in the upcoming confrontations with the wraith."

They walked as they talked and were now in the mess hall. It was eerily quiet. Everybody was either off-world or asleep. They'd pretty much given up on the post-mission medical since they had so many scheduled now a days.

"Ok." O'Neill finally agreed sitting down. The other three sat with him. "Carter, go get some shut eye before you drop dead on your feet. Not a request." Jack continued before she could open her mouth as he taped the three stars on his shoulder.

"Yes sir. Thank you."

Daniel glared at the general but did not say anything. It wasn't a malicious glare. Sheppard knew the kind. He had been on the receiving end of such glares countless times. He shook his head to dislodge the migraine that threatened to take over any minute. Thoughts of Rodney were redundant.

"You can stay Danny. If you feel up to it, I'd like you to supervise the proceedings. There is not much a medic can do, given both the patients are aliens, but… "

Daniel nodded. Yeah, he wanted to be there and supervise so that Jack wouldn't have to.

"I would like to be there too, sir." Sheppard interrupted the moment, stating the obvious.

"Well it was your idea after all, so yeah, you are still in charge of the interrogation. You two should probably go greet our guest. I'll be in my office, reporting to the president, if anyone needs me."

"So, did you meet a Goa'uld before this?"

"No. Read the reports though. Look I know there are more moral issues with this than I could consider in a lifetime… But we don't have a lifetime."

"I know." Jackson stated simply.

They entered the Gate-room just as the marines were taking the last weapons off Baal. His hands were raised above his head and the most unpleasant smile graced his handsome features. He looked the two men up and down and his eyes lit up like liquid gold. Sheppard kept his face impassive even as the hairs on the nape of his neck stood to attention.

"I am unarmed, are now satisfied?" his voice seemed to reverberate off the walls. "Where is the creature?"

888

Ereskigal was bound to a solid metal frame. The last wounds were just now closing from the rows of bullets the humans had used to subdue her enough to be moved and bound like she was. They were obstinate, she had to give them as much. How hard was it to understand that a wraith never gave away anything if they didn't want to. She had seen into Lilith's chosen one's mind. The one asking her questions had interrogated and killed two others of her kind. Granted they were males, not queens, but all the same. These humans never learned.

She tested her restrains again. At least, healed, it didn't hurt to do so anymore. She had to admit they knew how to render someone motionless. There was no way to free her wrists and ankles short of cutting them off.

The door to the cell opened. There he was the interrogator, Sheppard and one of the team that had captured her. And there was another one with them. His smell told her he was not human and she hissed her displeasure.

"She must be freed before I start."

"Are you insane? She has superhuman…"

"So do I. If you do not free her there is no deal."

"Fine, but that means we lock you in with her. And if she eats you, that's your problem." Sheppard finally spoke and motioned Daniel to follow him outside the cell's door. Daniel frowned but went. Before he closed the door, John handed Baal a knife.

Ereskigal hissed as Baal approached. He circled her once as if assessing the best way to get closer. Her muscles twitched as she jerked against her restrains. He stopped behind her and snaked an arm around her waist pulling her up against himself. At his touch she started to trash as if he'd burned her.

John could recognize the despair of a trapped animal in her reactions. Suddenly he was sick with himself for standing outside and watching this happen. Baal was enjoying himself too much. John banged his fist against the door to get his attention.

"Stop playing around!" he knew his voice did not carry through the hermetically shut door. But the words didn't matter, the message registered in a grimace from Baal. As if to spite him the Goa'uld held his gaze as he flicked his tongue over the side of the Wraith's neck, outlining taut tendons under the skin.

Her pupils were dilated and there was nothing but horror etched on her face. Her struggles were fruitless. The knife cut quickly through the plastic restrain holding her left arm to the frame and then the restrain on her right was severed. She tried to turn and grab, but Baal had calculated his moves and the angle he stood at behind her. He jumped and pushed her to the floor with his bodyweight. Planting a knee in the middle of her back he caught hold of her wrists and pinned them to her back twisting her arms painfully to do so. She was bucking wildly trying to throw him off. But like a cockroach pierced by a pin, there was no escape.

John wanted to look away. Baal's victorious smile turned his stomach inside out as did her scream as he nuzzled the nape of her neck. And even as every fiber in his body screamed with her commanding that he look away, John kept his eyes right at the spot where Baal's lips parted over her unnaturally pale skin.

And there it was. Just a flash of glistening brownish flesh passing his lips. Her screams intensified and he could hear her perfectly now. She did not speak in any language that would be familiar to human ears, but he understood her perfectly. The slim, long limbed body writhed on the floor under her captor's weight. Then Baal fell to one side and as she trashed under him, he was flung away like a rag doll.

"Let's go!" Daniel said loudly startling John out from his horror induced numbness.

The two medics present entered the cell along with Daniel. John stood just outside knowing there was nothing he could do past keeping his gun trained on the wraith. Ereskigal was still twisting and turning on the floor, her face screwed up tight and her mouth covered in dark red foam that kept being sprayed by the fury of her hisses. She looked like she had a really bad epileptic episode. Nobody concerned themselves with her though. They just threaded carefully around her to avoid being hit by her arms and legs as they jerked disjointedly.

Everybody huddled over Baal, lying unconscious on the floor. They fitted an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and ran an IV line. One of the doctors looked up at Daniel and shook her head. The brown eyes fluttered opened and Daniel leaned in close and muttered some words that John did not understand. Then Baal closed his eyes again. The medics finally moved him onto a gurney and took him away.

Ereskigal had managed to turn over on her back and soft whimpers were all that was left of her angry tossing. Her hair was damp and tangled. John took a few steps closer. It looked like she was muttering under her breath.

As he leaned in to listen her blood-red eyes opened wide and flashed to molten gold. An easy grin spread on her alien features, one that looked very out of place there.

"Point the gun away, human." Baal's cavernous voice came from the pale lips as he wiped the red foam away with the back of one hand.


	13. Chapter 13

A thousand thanks to Leah who made this story better. any remaining blunders are mine:)

* * *

Sheppard rested his elbows on the table. Baal was finally in control of the bony horror of an alien body. He suppressed a shudder at the thought of those eyes looking back at him from a mirror. The Goa'uld seemed perfectly happy with his new appearance, though.

"Lilith has attempted telepathic communication with my new host, but she sensed my presence before we got past the ritual greeting. She was not pleased to find Ereskigal unavailable." Baal was smiling again. "She knows you humans now. She took plenty of information from McKay's mind before destroying it." The grin got smugger and smugger until Sheppard had to clench his fists to keep from lashing out. 

"Anything else?" he ground out when the Goa'uld's silence stretched unbearably.

"I know what you want to know. I know whose name you want me to speak."

John kept his face impassive and slouched back in his chair defiantly while Baal in the tall wraith body rose to its feet and slowly circled the table to sit on it in front of the airman.

"She was there, you know, when he was turned. Ereskigal heard him moan and beg. He wanted it, too. He accepted that he had to become one of them to stay alive." The alien within the alien tormented. John tasted blood from where he was biting the inside of his cheek.

"Is he still alive? Is he with her?" he heard himself ask, his own voice strange in his ears. He was sure his jaw would never unclench again.

Baal's smile was cruel, in the Wraith's face. "Yes."

Relief and horror fought in John's mind.

"What's her battle plan? Is she going to attack Earth?"

"Ereskigal doesn't know. Lilith is acting as Supreme Queen and did not reveal her plans to her subordinates. But I believe she will attack Earth. The rebellion among the queens has pushed her hand. She will have to adjust her plans accordingly. And in order to reestablish her dominance, she will have to take drastic measures. She is in this galaxy as we speak. If your superiors would allow my fleet to enter your solar system..."

John shook his head. "Not an option. We have our allies and they will be in orbit soon. We're fully prepared for a space fight." Sheppard aimed for confidence in his tone of voice.

"What do you want?" Baal asked silkily. "Do you want to go rescue your friend? You know they won't let you go on a mission to search for him, they won't give you weapons or troops or equipment..." He scowled. "The Tau'ri are sentimental fools, but not in this way. You will never see him again." His eyes lit up as he went on. "I, on the other hand..."

Sheppard narrowed his eyes. He knew that a rescue mission for McKay was not in the cards and didn't need this creature telling him, reminding him, taunting him. "You what?" he spat. "You'd _help_ me? You'd back me in an attack on Lilith just to see me happy?"

Baal smirked and rose to his full height, which was now an impressive seven feet, towering over the still-seated human. "I will not be mocked. I want these creatures gone and I will not pretend it would not greatly enhance my status as a System Lord to be the one that ensured their demise. Yes, human, I seek my own glory, but I believe we have a common enemy now. Even if we want different things, the means to obtain them are the same."

Exhaling forcefully, Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm listening."

888

He could sense her anger still, though now only a shimmer under the surface. Lucifer had warned him to decline her company, but when he felt her summons he found he was unable to resist. He could not remember why or how he became important to her, or how she came to take such an important place in his own soul. He was not her bonded mate, since she had none, and he could not remember ever being her companion. And yet he couldn't remember any other lady or queen before or after her. 

His skin felt raw as he approached her. She sat on the floor of her new chambers, knees drawn up to her chest.

"My Queen," he spoke softly while sinking to his knees.

Her green eyes opened and looked into his purple ones.

"Rodney." Her hand rose toward him, beckoning him closer. Her mind wrapped around his with a warm, welcoming touch. He put his palms on the floor and moved over to her side like an animal. "You are home now," she said. "We are close to the planet where you were born."

"I do not remember my birth. My Queen," he said. "My mind is confused. Am I..." He didn't know what to ask or how to ask it, so he just let his mind open to her.

She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. Her hand covered his chest in a way that felt familiar and yet new. "Open your lips to mine," she whispered against his mouth, and he obeyed, dazed by her closeness and touch. 

There were even more questions in his eyes as the kiss ended.

"You taught me how to do that," she said. "But you have forgotten everything." Her voice was sad. "Sleep, beloved. Find rest." She pushed gently on his shoulders to bring his head to her lap. He went willingly.

"Am I to be your companion now?" he asked as he settled his head on her thigh. Her hand came to rest on the top of his head, her long, slim and taloned fingers carding through his hair.

"No," she said simply. "We will be bonded mates. I have no need for companions. I want you." Her voice was soft as her caresses, and Rodney closed his eyes. "You will be as you were after that. You will remember." He could not only hear her sadness, but feel it radiating from her entire being.

He rose from her embrace then, to look into her eyes. He leaned in and placed his lips upon hers again, the way she had done it earlier, but unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do.

Her hand caressed his shoulder and then down his arm, to his hand. She snaked her fingers between his, entwining them. She pushed their palms together, making him hiss in pleasure.

888

The blare of the sirens was still loud in his ears when John exited the worm-hole. He barely managed to take a deep breath before Baal activated the ring device and he was dematerialized again. When he exhaled he was on board the Goa'uld mother ship.

"Cool," Sheppard muttered under his breath, even as he raised his weapon.

"That is unnecessary." Baal laughed. "Your primitive weapon could not defend you against my Jaffa. Not to mention that aboard this ship you are greatly outnumbered. Should I decide for any reason that you are... not welcome, there would be nothing you could do." The cavernous voice was laced with a dark humor and gave John chills. He knew the alien was right. He knew he was walking into a situation that would more likely than not end with his death. He just couldn't bring himself to care.

So he smiled back, an easy smile that made him look ten years younger, and he pointed the P90 at the floor.

He shrugged. "Old habits die hard."

Baal nodded and called for a Jaffa. John was shown to quarters and told to refresh before joining Baal for a meal. He almost rolled his eyes at the extravagant treatment. He'd read about the Goa'uld arrogance, but this show of hospitality was almost comical.

Nevertheless, he changed out of his uniform, used the alien bathroom and carelessly left his dog tags in there. He had no more use for them after all. Even if he should survive this attempt and manage to rescue McKay, there was no way he could ever go back to Earth after this, much less to the USAF.

Baal's dining quarters were opulent, to say the least. The entire wall opposite the entrance was open, protected by a force-field against the vacuum of space. John could see the stars of the Milky Way, and it gave him the impression they were stationary.

Baal had changed Ereskigal's torn outfit and now wore an aquamarine tunic over black loose pants. The material looked soft. His hair was braided and held back with a myriad of hairpins and golden strings. Long slim arms were left bare and there was a silvery armband closing over his right bicep and several bracelets that glittered in shades of blue adorned both his wrists.

He slouched on a pile of cushions, legs crossed at the ankles, knees bent.

"I see you made yourself pretty," Sheppard commented by way of greeting, and got a smirk for his effort.

"I am glad my appearance pleases you, John." Baal smiled. "It has been quite some time since I inhabited a female body." Baal said as he motioned the human closer. Sheppard suppressed a shudder and joined the alien on the cushions. "Eat, rest...Five other System Lords have agreed to join our cause and fight Lilith, though she has also been in contact with the System Lords and has established peace agreements with most of them. Yu, Osiris, Shiva, Shu and Anubis are with us. One of Anubis's spies found out where Lilith is. As you can see, I have kept my end of our agreement. We are now even--you will have your chance to save your...friend."

John almost choked on the cherry-like fruit as the full force of Baal's grin hit him. It was nauseating, but stealing himself, he smiled back and popped another not-cherry in his mouth.

The sudden brightness gave him an excuse to divert his gaze from those deep red eyes. They were still disturbing, yet with Baal's consciousness behind them, they seemed to lose some of their x-ray quality.

"What was that?"

888

"Oh, God!" Sam whispered as she looked at the computer screen with huge eyes. She couldn't believe it. "Sir!" She called more loudly. "General O'Neill! We must begin evacuation, now!"

"What's up, Carter?" Jack was aiming for nonchalant, but for the first time in history he failed. Some of the fear at seeing her that pale showed in his voice.

"Sir..." Sam swallowed. "Our sun just exploded, sir."

"_What?_" 

"We detected an explosion...it was probably visible on the surface," Sam said, turning back to her computer screen as soon as she was certain she had the General's attention, fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong," Jack said, forcefully subduing the rising terror. It took eight minutes for light from the sun to reach the Earth. Everyone knew that. Which meant Earth had eight minutes left before it was gone. Probably seven, now. "...But weren't we supposed to have, like, five billion years before a supernova was scheduled? And wasn't our sun too small to do that?"

"Yes, sir." Sam nodded numbly. "This isn't a natural phenomenon, sir. I had the computer analyze the data from our deep space sensors before they went off-line due to the shock wave... it was some sort of explosive device."

"Somebody bombed our sun? Wraith? Why haven't we intercepted them? Where are they?" O'Neill was frantic and now--for the first time in his life--truly afraid. His mind reeled and refused to accept Carter's words. They had Asgard ships and Tok'Ra war vessels in orbit. They were ready to take on the Wraith...

He was pulled from his thoughts by the frail-looking form of an Asgard appearing out of thin air.

"Greetings, O'Neill. I am Hermiod. A Wraith Hive ship was detected entering the solar system. Commander Thor took the _Daniel Jackson_ in pursuit. The Hive Ship collided with your Sun. We believe it had explosives on board, given the consequences. The _Daniel Jackson_ was obliterated by the explosion. Commander Thor is no more. I am sorry." Heavy lids came down over the big black eyes of the alien in an expression of grief.

Jack looked over at Sam. She looked like a ghost and the despair in her eyes cut him bone-deep. The Control room was quite as a grave.

"Now what?" he asked quietly.

"We need to evacuate, sir. Hermiod, if you and the remaining Asgard ship would be able to assist...?" The alien inclined his head and disappeared. "In a typical supernova explosion," she began to explain, "the star's matter expands outward at a speed of about (5)106 meters per second, which is only 1/166 the speed of light." She continued addressing Jack. "So, the first matter from the Sun would take about twenty-two hours to reach the Earth."

So, a little more time than eight minutes, then, before the end of everything. Jack supposed that was something.

"During this time," Sam went on, "according to both general relativity and Newton's theory of instantaneous gravity, there will be no appreciable change in the Sun's gravitational pull on the Earth..." She paused for a breath. "We have twenty-two hours to get as many of the population of the planet away. After that, there will be no life on Earth."

888

Lucifer refolded his wings over his shoulders. He could feel Lilith was troubled. She had left her newly-bonded mate sleeping and ventured into the unexplored forest they had landed near. The planet they had chosen was lush, green and wet. Plants grew big enough to camouflage their growing hive and the air was pleasantly warm. The climate was perfect to sustain human life and the valley beyond the forest was perfect for a small colony.

They had reached an agreement with the Goa'uld. Still, Lucifer didn't feel quite right about it. There were some that had not been present at the negotiation. He did not fear war, but he craved its absence. 

He needed answers from her. Why was she taking the half-breed as a bonded mate? It was not yet time to think of such things. He let her smell guide him through the thick growth, deeper into the wet warm air of the forest. Lilith was sitting on a high branch of a blue-barked tree. Her magenta hair was loose around her head, her eyes closed, her limbs relaxed.

She extended a hand toward him without opening her eyes.

"Join me."

Without a word Lucifer extended his wings and flew up to land on the thick branch next to her, settling on his haunches, strong talons digging into the wood to keep him balanced. She caressed his face gently, tracing his jaw line with a finger before cupping his cheek.

"You are reckless, my Queen" he said. "It is not time to create bonds now. We have not established our hold on any of these worlds. One is more vulnerable within a bond." His voice was harsh even as he accepted her soothing touch.

"You fear too much," she retorted. "We are strong and we are here. The System Lords have agreed to our presence here...for now. The ones who have not we will fight. But the human life here is astoundingly abundant. We shall feed." She leaned forward as she spoke. "You are troubled by my bonding with Rodney."

Lucifer nodded. "His people...Earth is still a great threat. And they have powerful allies. You know all this."

"I do know," Lilith affirmed. "I have sent destruction to Earth. As we speak, his world is no more. They and their allies will be less of a threat now. I know how they think. They will despair at seeing their home die. They will be less efficient in a fight, if they even survive. I have sent one of our ships to destroy their sun. Their entire solar system will die. Thus I fulfilled my part in the agreement with the System Lords. I eliminated our greatest common enemy. They will need time to recover from this, if they manage to do that at all." she smiled and shifted closer.

"I see," Lucifer said. "And Rodney?" he asked, knowing his disapproval would be evident. "Is he to be your weakness?"

Lilith laughed. "I told him that I will do whatever he wished me to do after he helped us. I intend to keep my word. He wanted to live. As a human. I know his mind--he would not wish to be one of us. When I had him transformed, it was the only way to help him heal his injuries and to keep his loyalties without inflicting any new injuries. Now it is no longer necessary."

"You intend to restore him to his previous condition?" Lucifer asked, astonished. "You have lost your mind!" His face contorted with disgust. "You will have a human as bonded mate? No Wraith will ever accept that. You will be outcast!"

Lilith shrugged, as if this was of no consequence. "It is necessary. Only in this way can I keep my word to him. The bond will prevent betrayal."

"Your word..." Lucifer sneered at her. "It will be your destruction!"

She merely shrugged again. "Perhaps. We are old, my Light Bearer. I have given my children's children new feeding grounds. Nothing else matters."

Lucifer blinked at her, then his eyes widened in dawning comprehension and horror. "You knew you would not see the end of this war."

Lilith smiled sadly, and she caressed his cheek again. "I never intended to."

888

Sheppard was running. Head down, Zat gun clenched tightly in his hand, he advanced at a steady pace toward the dome where Lilith now lived. It amazed him how fast the Wraith had settled this planet, but that wasn't going to matter. The Jaffa, led by Baal himself, were as efficient as any strike force he'd ever seen.

Baal had taken on the mission of finding and eliminating Lilith while the five Mother ships and thousands of gliders carried out an airborne attack.

The planet surface was in chaos. Wraith darts and death gliders filled the sky with light from their weapons. The noise was all-encompassing. If he wasn't smack in the middle of it he would have thought it very cool. _This would make one hell of a video game,_ John mused to himself while straining to keep up with Baal.

The Goa'uld looked perfectly comfortable in his new body by now, and he was making good use of the long legs, covering the ground in tremendous strides.

"Are you sure she's in there?" John asked breathlessly as they stopped. He crouched down next to a wall that looked and felt disturbingly organic.

Baal smirked at him before using his Zat to dispatch the guard at the entrance. The Jaffa providing back-up were busy shooting blue streams of death towards the Wraith surrounding them. John noticed there were fewer than they had started out with.

"Come on, John." Baal encouraged as he moved his hand over a protrusion on the wall that looked like a flower. The wall opened and they went in quickly.

"What about your men?" John asked as the wall slid back into place behind them.

Baal sniffed in clear derision, the gesture both absurd and grotesque on his new face. "You are pathetic. They provide distraction. It is their purpose. Let's hope it takes them long enough to die so that we have the time to complete our mission."

Inside the dome everything was quiet. The walls gave a soft orange light. John took a moment to look around.

"They know we are in here," Baal told him quietly. He smiled. "They're confused--they don't know what I am. But they are coming."

Sheppard followed Baal's lead as he hurried down one of the corridors that branched out from the front room. He couldn't think straight long enough to formulate a plan of his own. The more he thought about it the more hopeless it felt. What was he thinking when he decided to go along with this? There was no way in hell he could get Rodney out of here alive--or dead for that matter, because he was becoming increasingly certain he wasn't going to be able to leave, either. _Oh, God, Rodney. I'm so sorry._

New determination hardened his features. He was going to die on an alien planet and that was something he had made peace with long ago. He wasn't going to be able to save Rodney, and he would never make his peace with that, but it couldn't be helped.

Aiming his Zat at Baal's back, John pondered. If anyone could take Lilith out, it was the monster leading him. On the other hand, there was no guarantee that Lilith was actually here. It was only Baal's word. He might not have a second chance to do this.

Making his mind up, John took the shot. Baal jumped out of the way just in time and the paralyzing shot got his left side, but didn't bring him down. 

"Fool!" Baal snarled, enraged. "You have no hope without me!" He bared his vestigial teeth. Sheppard ducked behind a corner to avoid being hit.

His second try was more successful. Jumping out again before Baal could regain full mobility, he fired twice. One of the shots took the alien out. He walked over to him and kicked his Zat away.

"You're wrong," John said simply. "I have no hope at all." He fired again. A third shot made the body disappear.

John continued down the narrow corridor, two Zat guns at the ready. He ran into three Wraith drones soon after that, but he'd expected as much. He managed to take down two of them before the third stunned him. He was unceremoniously dragged to a large, round room.

A pained grunt escaped between his sealed lips as he was dropped on the hard floor. He tried to blink some moisture into his eyes, but the lids would not work. He cursed inwardly as the first tear slid down his temple and into his ear, making him shudder. At least the stinging in his eyes stopped.

He felt himself being lifted and then placed on a softer surface that gave under his weight. Familiar green eyes locked with his and an equally familiar sneer turned his stomach.

"Lantean," Lilith said silkily. "You have invaded my new home in vain. Your world is no more. Where is Ereskigal? Why can I feel her no longer?" His silence spurred her anger on. "You will die knowing you have failed." Her hand pushed down on his solar plexus hard enough to crush a rib or two. His eyes rolled back in pain. 

"Lilitu," someone said.

John focused again.

"...Ohyy?" John's clenched teeth and heavy tongue did not allow him to speak his friend's name.

"He is...familiar to me. I can't remember why. I know him." Rodney came closer to the web hammock Sheppard was laying on. Rodney's mind felt wrapped in cotton.

"Leave me! He must die." Lilith's rage peaked as her bonded mate disobeyed and came still closer. She did not want for him to see this. His memories had been carefully edited, and the fragile balance she had worked so hard to create would be destroyed by any inconsistency. "You will know everything soon. You must leave now!"

"Lilith, my Queen, I'm sorry, but I can't let him die." Rodney shook his head. "I can't--I can't explain it..."

John saw a pale hand wrap around the Wraith Queen's wrist, pulling her hand off his chest. He took advantage of the stun slowly wearing off and with great effort turned his head. He could feel sweat cooling on his back, his muscles were stiff and sore and his joints were starting to tingle with the promise of pins and needles. Every shallow breath hurt.

It was Rodney standing next to Lilith, holding her hand away from him. He looked paler than John had ever seen him, his brown hair coming down to his shoulders made him look older. And his eyes were purple. There was something very Wraith-like about him, yet nothing close to what John had expected. 

"R'dny...Buddy. Guh ta shee ya."

Rodney came even closer, his eyes narrowing then suddenly widening.

John's vision blurred. He was sure now that his ribs weren't just cracked but broken and pierced a lung, since he could taste blood in his mouth. Part of him wondered distantly why Lilith hadn't just fed on him. _Blood loss and shallow breathing will make me pass out,_ he thought. He smiled as he imagined what Rodney would have said to that, if John had been able to gasp out the words.

Darkness came and with it the pain ceased. 

Rodney watched the man's hazel eyes glaze over and lose their shine as life left his body. A terrible sadness took hold of him. His mind felt empty and he couldn't make sense of any of the things going on around him.

The dome shook around them. Lilith let out a startled cry, looking up as if she could see through the canopy of their shelter.

They were taking off, joining the other hives fleeing the planet, when Lilith was alerted to the presence of more intruders. She grabbed Rodney's hand and guided him toward where the hive was still connected to the dome, the other Wraith waiting for their Queen. 

888

EPILOGUE

"Whatcha readin'?" the red-haired girl asked. She sat on the cold stone step next to her friend and leaned over to read the cover.

"Just a historical novel," the other student replied as she put the book in her book bag and stood, brushing dust off her uniform pants.

"Huh...'Eve without Eden'. Nice title. So, what's this one about?" the red-head stood as well, playfully elbowing her friend.

"Mmm, well, it's about the last days of Earth One, the dawn of the first inter-galactic war against the Wraith, stuff like that."

"Cool. So, who's the main character?"

"Well, it starts with when they first found Eve--you know, Lilith--in the Pegasus Galaxy. It revolves quite a bit around McKay, but your favorite First Era military commander of the Atlantean expedition does make an appearance. Wanna borrow it when I'm finished with it?"

"Yeah, that would be cool, thanks. So, are you ready for the concert tonight?"

"Very. I just have one more chapter left of the book. I wonder how the author portrayed Eve-Lilith's death."

"It'll be one of the known theories, I'll bet," he friend said. "The bones they found on Giglia were never positively identified as hers, but nobody denied it, either. Well, it's what they said on the documentary we saw in class, anyway. Along with the female Wraith skeleton, they apparently found bones of an unknown species... half Wraith, half human. They suspect it's the remains of McKay."

"Yeah." The other one nodded. "I know. They're trying to extract DNA to make a positive ID. Do you think professor Lara will let us go to Giglia for the summer excavations?"

"Sure. All we have to do is ace her exam and we're on the team. Don't worry, we still have a couple of months before finals. Let's enjoy the concert tonight."

_Excerpt from the Archeology Faculty's Weekly News Sheet, University of New Europe, First Issue __Of The Fall Semester:_

**Report On The Summer Excavation On Giglia, Site Number 45XP-307.**

An archeology team led by Professor John Lara, PhD, conducted a survey this summer on planet Giglia. The research was centered on the area where, a year earlier, a Terra-forming team had accidentally stumbled across an ancient Wraith settlement. The most prominent find was a skeleton belonging to the Queen Lilith. The scientific community had reason to believe that Giglia was the planet where the first Wraith/Goa'uld confrontation took place. 

On further examination another skeleton was unearthed. This one belonging to a creature that so far defies classification as either human or Wraith.

After a summer's work, Professor Lara's team determined that this skeleton indeed belongs to one Dr. Rodney M. McKay, considered MIA until now. The survey proved to be exceptionally fruitful, as yet another skeleton was found, identified as a male human. At first the researchers considered him to have been one of the Wraith Queen's victims. 

DNA tests have been conducted on this skeleton as part of the summer practice for the students on the team. The results of these tests will change history as we now know it. The remains belong to one John Sheppard, USAF Major. The former military commander of the Atlantean expedition had been counted among the victims of the solar explosion that destroyed Earth 1. There is no official record of him leaving the planet before the explosion and this unique find brings up new questions.

His remains will be transported to Lantea, along with those of Dr McKay. They will be creamated and scattered over the Lantean Ocean.

The end 

* * *

**Chapter End Notes:**  
Yes, I know, I killed everyone, I couldn't help it. Someone suggested turning this into Mc/Shep sometime ago and I just wanted to write an end note here and say that if any of you want to write an alternate ending to this, you are welcome, just specify that it is inspired by Eve without Eden, because I want to read it!

On a different note, for those who wondered why prof. Lara is refered to as 'she' and then called John (wierd heh?) it is because I made a mistake and then when I saw it I decided not to corect it figuring that in the year 5678(or what ever the distant future in the end of the story is) a woman can be called John. This is afterall an AU to a sci-fi story... Also I thought it kinda cool that the name John would be very popular maybe because of Shep being a big hero and stuff...


End file.
